Coconut Shrimp With Frozen Prawns

Our answer

Nigella's Coconut Shrimp With Turmeric Yogurt (from AT MY TABLE) coats raw prawns in a coconut and panko mixture to give a delicious, light and crisp coating. Most prawns sold as "fresh" have actaully been frozen at some point, so we do think that you could use raw, defrosted, ready-peeled (shell-off) king prawns. But make sure that they are uncooked/raw prawns, as if they are already cooked they may turn slightly rubbery when fried. Also as the prawns will likely let off a fair amount of water as they defrost, so we suggest putting the prawns in large sieves and defrosting them overnight in the fridge. Set the sieves over bowls to catch any liquid as they defrost and pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper (paper towels) before using them.

We don't recommend coating the prawns more that 3-4 hours ahead of cooking, as the coating can turn slightly soggy as the prawns stand and they won't be as crisp. Unfortunately panko breadcrumbs are not guten-free but you could substitute gluten-free dried breadcrumbs as an alternative. They may not be quite as light and crispy as panko but the coating should still be delicious.