This is such a simple recipe, but one of my all-time favourites. Reminiscent of one of my favourite New York Spanish restaurants, Boqueria, these Chilli Garlic Prawns are super tasty, yet surprisingly cheap and easy. With only 5 ingredients, these prawns are ready in less than 15 minutes, but are so so delicious. Perfect as an appetizer, a tapas dish, a main course for one or a side dish amongst other foods, these prawns are versatile as well as speedy.
Chilli and garlic is always a perfect combination. The crispy fried garlic with salty prawns and finished with a kick of chilli is even better. The amount of chilli you add is up to you – some people prefer more heat than others. It also depends on the hotness of your chilli flakes. I recommend adding a little at first, as you can always add more later. It’s much harder to reduce the heat once you’ve added too much!
You also want to watch that you don’t overcook the prawns. I used quite small ones so on a medium-high heat they only took a few minutes to cook. Cooked prawns should be opaque white and not grey or translucent looking. If overcooked, the prawns become rubbery and chewy. Not nice. However, once you’ve made these Chilli Garlic Prawns a few times you’ll get used to the cooking times and you won’t even need to time it.
You can use frozen or fresh prawns. I used frozen just as its cheaper, and easier to store. You need to thaw frozen prawns before cooking them in this recipe. But this is easy and doesn’t take long. Simply add them to a bowl and cover with cool water and they’ll be defrosted in around 15 minutes. Don’t use hot water or the microwave as this might start to cook the prawns. Once defrosted, they’re ready to go and will be ready in less than 15 minutes start to finish!
Chilli Garlic Prawns
Ingredients
- 250 g prawns (around 20 small prawns)
- ½-1 tsp chilli flakes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp light olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Thaw the prawns if they are frozen. You can submerge them in water and leave for around 15 minutes to do this, or else run them under cool water for 5-10 minutes.
- Thinly slice the garlic cloves. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the garlic for around 5 minutes. Add the prawns along with the chilli flakes and salt and fry for 2-3 minutes, then turn the prawns over for another 2 minutes, until cooked.
Method in Pictures
Gather your ingredients
Thinly slice the garlic
Fry in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes
Add the prawns and fry for 5-6 minutes, until fully cooked
Add the salt and the chilli flakes and fry for 5-6 minutes, until the prawns are fully cooked
Serve with fresh coriander