LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Prawns with mango and passion fruit salsa


Springloaf prawns on plate Photo Susie Iventosch

Appetizer for 3-4 people

All ingredients available in any larger grocery store, such as Safeway, Diablo Foods, Whole Foods etc.

Ingredients

12-16 uncooked prawns, thawed, peeled, deveined and tail on (size 21/25 or 16/20). You can scale up to larger prawns for an entree.

Marinade (recipe below)

Mango-Passion Fruit Salsa (recipe below)

Directions

Rinse prawns under cold running water and pat dry using paper towels. Pour marinade over prawns and mix well; store in cool location, or refrigerate, until ready to grill. (I marinated them for several hours.) In the meanwhile heat your grill to medium-high. Carefully lay prawns onto hot grill rack, avoiding flare-ups from dripping marinade. After 1-2 minutes flip the prawns over and continue cooking for another minute or two until they are evenly pink with nice grill marks. Allow a little extra time for larger size prawns but be careful not to overcook. Quickly remove prawns from grill, arrange on a platter and top with the mango passion fruit salsa, and some Fresno peppers or hot sauce to your liking. Garnish with a squeeze of fresh lime and fresh chopped cilantro and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Marinade

2 tablespoons Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce

Zest of 1/2 fresh lime, finely minced or grated

1 teaspoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (optional)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced or pressed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

Whisk all ingredients until smooth (or use a stick blender)

Salsa

1 tablespoon Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce

Juice of 1/2 fresh lime

1 cup passion fruit juice

1 small mango (not too ripe)

1/2 small red onion, small diced

1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

1/2 Fresno or red jalapeno pepper, small diced, alternatively a few drops of your favorite hot sauce (for example Sriracha)

In a sauce pan simmer 1 cup passion fruit juice on medium heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, then set aside to cool. Peel mango and cut from seed, cut into small dice. Mix the diced mango with the onion, sweet chili sauce, passion fruit reduction, rice vinegar, cover and store in refrigerator until prawns are ready.