There is a version of peri-peri prawns that takes 45 minutes and involves roasting your own chillies and blending a sauce from scratch. That version is delicious and you should make it sometime. But there is also this version, which takes 15 minutes start to plate and produces something that people genuinely cannot stop eating.
The key with prawns is speed and heat. High temperature, short time, generous sauce, and a piece of good bread to mop the pan with at the end. That is the whole thing.
What You Need (Serves 2 as a Main, 4 as a Starter)
- 500g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined (tails on if you have them — better for presentation and for holding)
- 3 tablespoons STOKE peri-peri sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
- A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- Salt to taste
- Crusty bread or Portuguese rolls to serve
How to Do It
Get your pan genuinely hot before anything goes in. A heavy cast iron skillet is ideal. Whatever you use, let it sit over high heat for at least two minutes. When a drop of water in the pan evaporates on contact, you are ready.
Add the butter to the hot pan and let it foam and start to colour slightly. Add the garlic and let it cook for 30 seconds — you want it fragrant and just starting to turn golden, not burning. Move quickly.
Add the prawns in a single layer. Do not crowd them or they will steam instead of sear and you will lose all the caramelisation that makes this dish. If your pan is not big enough, cook in two batches. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds per side — the prawns are done when they curl into a loose C shape and the flesh has gone from grey to pink. Overcooked prawns go hard and rubbery very fast. Pull them just before you think they are done.
Add the STOKE peri-peri sauce directly to the pan. It will hit the butter and garlic and the whole thing will bubble up and the smell at this point is genuinely something. Toss everything together and cook for another 30 seconds so the sauce reduces slightly and coats every prawn.
Off the heat, squeeze over the lemon juice and scatter the parsley. Taste for salt.
Getting It to the Table
Serve straight from the pan if you can. The sizzle and the smell matter. Pile them into a bowl with all the buttery sauce from the pan, put the bread on the side, and let people get involved. This is not a tidy meal. That is fine.
Why STOKE Works Here
Prawns are sweet and delicate. A peri-peri sauce with too much vinegar or that leads with brine instead of smoke will drown them. STOKE is balanced — the heat builds rather than hitting immediately, and the smoke gives the buttery pan sauce a depth that takes what could just be garlic prawns and makes them something noticeably more interesting.
This Recipe Also Works With
- Scallops (reduce the heat to medium-high and watch them like a hawk)
- Firm white fish fillets like barramundi or snapper cut into large chunks
- Calamari rings — very high heat, under 2 minutes total
Order your bottle of STOKE and make this tonight. Seriously.
Make this recipe with STOKE
Real fire-roasted capsicum, pickled chilli, smoked paprika. No shortcuts. $8.99 a bottle, shipped Australia-wide.