What are prawns and how are they cooked?

Answer 1

I have always been curious about the difference between prawns and shrimp also so I decided to look this one up. I have always seen the term applied only to large shrimp. I wondered if they were any different in character than other shrimp.

Foodnetwork.com defines a prawn as follows:
Definition: There is a great deal of confusion about this term because it's used to describe several different shellfish. 1. The first definition refers to a species that's part of the lobster family and includes those crustaceans variously called Dublin Bay prawn, Danish lobster, Italian scampi, langoustine (French), langostino (Spanish), Caribbean lobsterette and Florida lobsterette. These "prawns" have bodies shaped like tiny Maine lobsters including minuscule claws. The meat has a sweet, delicate flavor that some claim is better than either lobster or shrimp. These "prawns" are 6 to 8 inches in length and have pale-red bodies deepening to dark-red tails. 2. A second definition applies to the freshwater prawn (identified by the Latin name Macrobrachium); the term distinguishes shrimp as living in salt water and prawns as freshwater creatures. In truth, these prawns migrate (much like salmon) from salt water to fresh water to spawn. They look like a cross between a shrimp and a lobster, with their bodies having narrower abdomens and longer legs than shrimp. See also Hawaiian blue prawn. 3. The term "prawn" is also loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (also called "jumbo shrimp").

Prawns are generally cooked in any of the millions of ways that shrimp can be cooked. If you search food network or recipes.com you will find literally thousands of recipes for prawns and shrimp.

Answer 2

prawns are shrimp and here a good Recipe

Broiled Prawns

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
1 pound wild Prawns (16 to 20 or 21 to 25 count works best), peeled and deveined
Wood or metal skewers

Mix all the ingredients together (except prawns) in a large bowl. Add the prawns and
cover. Allow to marinate about 1/2 hour in the refrigerator.
Preheat grill to high and put about 5 to 6 prawns on each skewer. Place the prawn skewers on the grill (using metal tongs works well for this). Let cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Carefully remove the prawns from the skewers and serve as an appetizer or with side dishes for an entree.

Answer 3

Prerferably -avoid warm water prawns - because they can come from polluted waters. Though they can be used in hot dishes when the prawn quality hardly matters. Decent cold water prawns need cooking quite swiftly so they do not shrink and go tough. Literrally toss them in a hot pan and keep them moving for a minute or two. If they are RAW (grey) shell-on prawns they should turn pink with cooking - saute them with garlic and butter - turn them a couple of times - maybe 5 minutes max especially if they are room temperature when you start. If you are making something like a paella, then add them to the top of the dish near the end of cooking - stir through lightly and quickly and cover - (they will cook in seconds in the heat of the dish and hopefully still remain succulent) Shell-off prawns need only a couple of minutes cooking or they will go tough...Cold water prawns are usually from nice clean waters with lower bacteria count - it wouldn't make much of a difference if you washed the and ate them almost raw (after all that's sushi!) - but you should never eat the warm water prwns raw due to potential bacterial load. Most folks buy pink prawns (shell off OR on) which are already cooked so the 'cooking' process should be the minimum to warm through otherwise they just become little tastelsess tough bullets! Always add pink pre cooked prawns at the last minute after all the rest of a dish (like a curry) is ready...they only need to heta in the warthe of the sauce in this case. (Tip: Make the sauce a bit thick as the prawns will release water and thin it down again)

Answer 4

Many of the above Answerers have it 95-99% right inasmuch as stating that prawns are just large(r) shrimp but do not explain further that it is a geographical language thing: in most English-speaking places the word "prawn" is used for shrimp measuring (cooked with head off) more than about 4 or 5 centimetres (1 1/2 - 2 inches) but in some (apparently yours among them) the word is still "shrimp", with a modifier like "large," "extra large", "jumbo", etc.

Answer 5

Prawns are shrimp-like crustaceans distinguished from the superficially similar shrimp only by the gill structure. Commercially speaking, shrimp and prawns are generally referred to, and used, interchangeably. You can cook prawns the same way any shrimp recipe would be followed. There are some good ones here: http://www.cookitsimply.com/category-0020-0k137.html

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

They are basically like shrimp, only slightly different in how they look, but are pretty much the same thing in terms of cooking and eating. If you know how to cook shrimp you can do the same with prawns, cooking them any way you would a shrimp. (If you dont know the different ways think about Bubba from Forrest Gump and all the ways he says you can cook shrimp)

"You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich."

Answer 7

Prawns are large shrimp. They can be cooked anyway shrimp are cooked.

Answer 8

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What are prawns and how are they cooked?

Answer 9

Prawns are big shrimp. They are cooked the same as shrimp or lobster tails.

Answer 10

prawns are fresh water shrimp usually found in the south. you can cook them like shrimp. there really great to BBQ.hope this helps. their seasonal