There are more that 16 species of prawns seen on the Auction floor at Sydney Fish Market throughout the year. These include wild harvest prawns such as king prawns, tiger prawns, school prawns and farmed prawns. The most common species of farmed prawn is the leader tiger prawn, sold mostly as a cooked fresh product it is a deep orange coloured prawn available year round, peak harvests coincide with Christmas and Easter meeting the huge demand. Wild harvest tiger prawns are lighter in colour and tend to be a much higher price than its farmed cousin. King prawns the largest and often highest in price hail from the Northern NSW town of Yamba. Coffs Harbour, Ballina, Evans Head, Crowdy head and Newcastle fishermen’s cooperatives are also large producers of King Prawns. Other common wild harvest prawn species are endeavour prawns, royal red prawns, bay prawns and banana prawns. The seasons, average size, flavour and texture all vary from one species to another.

TO BUY
Prawns are either available cooked or green (raw), 1kg is usually enough prawns for 3 people as a main course. At auction prawns are always sold whole either cooked or green. At retail frozen, cutlets and peeled prawns are often available. Royal Red Prawns shells blacken quickly they are sold peeled as prawn meat. Look for prawns with good luster and colour, a firm body with moist flesh and tight, intact shell and a pleasant fresh sea smell.

TO STORE
Whether in the refrigerator or freezer, leave prawns in their shell. This prevents dehydration and loss of flavour. To refrigerate place cooked prawns in a covered container or in airtight plastic bag on a plate. Keep up to 2-3 days. Green prawns are best held in cold water in a covered container to prevent blackening of the shell. Keep up to 1-2 days. To freeze, place prawns in a plastic container covered with water; do not add salt. Cover and then freeze. The water forms an ice-block around the prawns, preventing freezer burn. To thaw, run cold water over the prawns to melt the ice-block or thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Freeze up to 3 months providing your freezer operates at –18ºc.

TO PREPARE
Preparation depends upon their use. To peel cooked or green prawns, break or cut off the head, remove the tail and shell. Pinch off tail, if desired. De-vein by slitting the centre back with a very fine-bladed knife and pull the vein out. Tail fans may be removed but a better effect is achieved if left on, particularly for barbecuing or grilling.

TO COOK
Prawns have a sweet, salty tang with a fresh aftertaste. Do not re-cook cooked prawns; these are best for salads and seafood platters. Green prawns are extremely versatile the firm texture means they can be grilled, barbecued, stir-fried, deep-fried, steamed or boiled. Prawns are translucent when green/raw and turn white with pinkish bands when cooked.
Avoid overcooking. Prawns are great with lemon, black pepper, citrus, ginger, chilli, garlic, coriander and a variety of sauces or mayonnaise. They are well suited to Thai or Indian style curries and smaller species of prawns make excellent finger food. School prawns are suitable for deep-frying or barbecuing whole and are good as prawn cakes or as fillings.

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS (king prawns)
Energy (371kj) Protein (20.5g) Fat (0.9g) Cholesterol (137mg) Omega 3’s (177mg)

*Nutritional information sourced from Australian Seafood Catering Manual and Omega 3 content from CSIRO Marine Research. Values shown are for every 100g edible portion of the species only (not the complete recipe).

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