How to Cook and Eat Spot Prawns

May 7, 2021 · 48 Comments

BC spot prawns are deliciously flavoured: sweet, buttery and delicate. Spot prawn season is quick and short and typically lasts only 30 to 40 days from mid-May. Live spot prawns are sustainability harvested in British Columbia off the West Coast of Canada. Enjoy these wild spot prawns guilt-free! Poach, sashimi, steamed, fried - there is no wrong way to eat these large shrimp. But the best way to eat them is simply poached.

Jump to:

What Are Spot Prawns?
Where Can You Buy Spot Prawns
Spot prawn vs Tiger Prawn
Mud Line On The Back Of The Shrimp
How To Cook Spot Prawns?
How To Peel and Unsheathe Tasty Prawns
What To Do With Leftover Spot Prawn Heads
What About Spot Prawn Roe?
Portion Sizes
Why Are My Spot Prawns Mushy?
What To Serve With Spot Prawns

What Are Spot Prawns?

Wild B.C. spot prawns are known for their vibrant reddish-orange color with white stripes on the legs and distinctive white spots on the tail. This delicious spot prawns only come for a limited short season. The harvest season only lasts six to eight weeks in the month of May. Spot prawns are trap caught off the Pacific Coast of North America from San Diego to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. They are sometimes referred to as Alaska spot prawns or "The Lobster of Alaska." They have the highest quality prawn meat.

Where Can You Buy Spot Prawns

You can buy and pre-order these succulent prawns at your local grocery stores or local spot prawns vendors. Frozen spot prawns are also available year round in Canada.

Spot prawn vs Tiger Prawn

Tiger shrimps are significantly larger compared to spot prawns. Tiger shrimp has a meaty and firm texture, whereas spot prawns are delicate and with a melt-in-your-mouth buttery bouncy texture. Tiger prawns are great for grilling during barbecue season.

Mud Line On The Back Of The Shrimp

The black line on the back of the shrimp is the intestinal tract of the prawn. It is more pleasant to eat if it is removed. Use a small paring knife and cut along the outer, thickest part of the shrimp of the back of the raw shrimp. Remove the vein.

Food Advertisements by

How To Cook Spot Prawns?

The simple secret to enjoying whole spot prawns is by poaching them in a large pot of water boiling with sea salt. The most important thing is to keep it a short process.

Spot shrimp cook fast! It is a fine line between over cooking live prawns vs cooking them 'just right"! I like them best poached for 30 seconds. Quickly blanched whole prawns in boiling hot water and served with a chilli soy dipping sauce. Do not cook them more than one minute. Keep your eyes on these sweet shrimp! Once they turn pink; they are ready!

There are number of other options to enjoy fresh spot prawns. Some like steam, pan fry in a large saute pan or even oven bake at 450 F. Spread prawns in a single layer of prawns with garlic and red pepper flakes.

Have you tried steam poaching in a convection steam oven? Try 230F for 5 to 6 minutes to achieve that perfectly poached spot prawns!

Others like to add a bit of crème fraîche and make it saucy. Some people also enjoy eating raw spot prawns sashimi style! How about a spot prawn boil?

How To Peel and Unsheathe Tasty Prawns

If you have never unsheathe prawns, the first time can be a little scary. There are different ways to shell spot prawns. Just follow the following simple technique!

Note: the cooked prawns are probably a little hot. Allow it it rest and cool before working with them.

Pull off the head and legs.
Remove the shell starting with the head end, pull off the other shell with your hands. You can keep the last segment of the shell on the tail tip.
Remove and discard the vein.

Place the unsheathe shells in a plastic bag or container to freeze and to make shell fish stock.

What To Do With Leftover Spot Prawn Heads

Do not discard prawn shells or their heads. Spot prawn heads are excellent when deep fried with a little bit of corn starch dusted. Enjoy it with a gentle squeeze of lemon juice.

Unsheathe shells are excellent for making Shellfish Stock.

What About Spot Prawn Roe?

Some spot prawns may be carrying roe. You can see colors from orange to red on their bellies. Spot prawns can be cooked with roe. Enjoy the delicious sweet and briny flavoured roe by sucking on the shrimp heads!

Portion Sizes

When it comes to choosing spot prawns, bigger does not always mean better flavours when it comes to buying BC spot prawns. The unique flavour of spot prawns do not diminish when comparing bigger to smaller prawns. We like them mid-sized and find them the sweetest!

Why Are My Spot Prawns Mushy?

Take off the heads - STAT! Spot prawns spoils quickly. You will need to cook them soonest possible to remove their heads. Spot prawns releases enzymes when they die and turns their flesh mushy and soft and their bodies black! If you see frozen spot prawns head on - do not buy them!

If you see raw prawns with black spots or a floating shrimp that smell fishy, do not eat and a risk of slimy shrimp food poisoning.

What To Serve With Spot Prawns

Chinese Chili Soy Dipping Sauce 辣椒豉油熟油

Air Fryer Cauliflower 氣炸鍋菜花

Fried Garlic Seafood Fried Rice 金蒜海鮮炒飯

Did you enjoy any Sweet Spot Prawns? I'd love to see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS

Pin the above image to your Chinese Recipe Pinterest Board to bookmark this page. We are so excited to share our recipes with you!

More Chinese Recipes

Chinese Steamed Chicken With Shiitake Mushroom 冬菇蒸雞

Air Fryer BBQ Pork Char Siu 氣炸鍋蜜汁叉燒

Red Bean Soup (Instant Pot) 蓮子百合紅豆沙

Braised Beef Brisket & Tendon 柱侯蘿蔔炆牛筋腩

Best Postpartum Pig Trotter Black Vinegar and Ginger 豬腳薑醋

This post contains affiliate links and/or products submitted to Nomss for editorial consideration. To find out more, please visit our About/Disclaimer page.

Remove Ad-Block to view shopping guide!