Prawn Salad with Avocado Wasabi Cream
Prawns sold cooked are a wonderfully quick meal, but I have finicky eater in my house who prefers their meat and fish filleted and prawns ready peeled. I’m finicky too. I prefer to buy green prawns, unpeeled, sustainably caught in Australian waters and processed at sea.
Instead of messing with finger bowls at the table or compromising my principles in the kitchen I generally buy the green prawns I prefer. I take advantage of the flavour in the shells and make a delicious rich prawn stock to store in the freezer for another dish.
Steaming is the gentlest way to cook the prawns when I want to serve them cold. It preserves the delicate flavour in the meat and rapid chilling over ice ensures that the prawns don’t overcook and the texture remains al dente.
Ketchup based seafood cocktails sauce common in the 1970s have turned me off pink sauce for life so I usually serve a bowl of home made aoili as an accompaniment to prawns, then a few weeks ago I tried a Japanese influenced wasabi avocado cream when I made salmon roe sushi. The instant I tasted it I visualised it being perfect with prawns, and it was!
750g large green prawns
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon wasabi
1/2 are ripe avocado
1 teaspoon miring
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon tamari
1 Baby gem lettuce
Peel the prawns and make stock with the shells. How to here.
Place the prawns in a single layer on a plate that fits into a steamer. I use a 30cm Chinese bamboo steamer for this purpose. You will need to cook the prawns in 2-3 batches.
Steam the prawns over simmering water in a wok for roughly 6 minutes. They will look opaque when cooked. Add the juices left on the plate to the stock.
While the first batch is steaming, prepare a tray of ice with a layer of baking paper over the top. Have a second sheet of baking paper ready to cover the prawns and extra ice to place on top.
As the prawns finish cooking chill them quickly surrounded by ice, then remove to the refrigerator.
Gently separate the lettuce leaves, wash then thoroughly and spin dry.
Make the wasabi avocado cream by blitzing all the ingredients together in a small processor.
Cut each prawn tail into 3-4 pieces, then combine the prawn meat and the wasabi cream.
Spoon the prawn salad into the lettuce leaves and arrange on a platter.
Top with coarsely ground black pepper.
Makes approx 15 small serves
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27 comments on “Prawn Salad with Avocado Wasabi Cream”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Looks appetizing
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Thanks Elsie, the flavour has that terrific horseradish zing
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makes my mouth water…
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Well, that’s a good thing..
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The mouth waters….
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Wow I am super hungry now and scrolled down you post.. I am salivating…
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Looks absolutely delicious. There are few chores I hate more than cleaning shrimp…
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It can be a bore but I stay focus on the delicious flavour the shells will yield, then I think it’s worth the effort
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What an appetizing way to present prawn salad! And your mayo/wasabi proportions would pack quite a punch which I love! As far as steaming goes: have steamed all my vegetables not baked or stirfied most of my lifetime and shall cook my next lot of prawns the same way 🙂 !
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I hope the steamed prawns please you, it’s the best way I know to conserve the rich flavour. Remember to keep the little bit of juice that accumulates in the bowl, prawn essence for another dish
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Beautiful presentation. I like your idea of aioli instead of pink marie rose sauce – altogether fresher and more zingy. The wasabi mix is a little more adventurous (for me anyway!) but I’m tempted to try it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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The flavour is really delicious Trix, the avo and mayo take the bite of the wasabi away….
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What a gorgeous combination of flavours Sandra! I’ve never been too sure about wasabi, but imagine how lovely this must be with it mixed in with the mayonnaise, avocado and other ingredients! Sounds delicious.
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We looove wasabi and also those mustardy, horseradishy flavours. It’s good to find different ways to include them. This worked brilliantly!
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Perfect for a hot summer’s day.
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Thanks, it was!
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This looks incredible. Everyone in our family loves prawns so it could be a winner. I dislike avocado but like wasabi, two of the boys like wasabi….somehow we may come up with a compromise!
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I’m sure you’ll find a way to please everyone’s tatse
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Avocado and prawns are a great combination. Naturally I concur on the use of fresh prawns and making stock. Perhaps you could reduce a bit of the stock and add a teaspoon of prawn ‘essence’ for additional flavor.
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The wasabi packs such a punch I think it would be a waste of prawn essence, but you could totally change the flavour profiles, perhaps add some dill and lemon rather than wasabi, then the essence would work it’s magic
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Wow, Sandra! The first photo is so inviting and these lettuce cups with prawns dressed with avocado wasabi cream are super delectable. It is amazing how wasabi adds so much pleasure to the palate. I had never heard of green prawns. Do you know if they are found in the USA too?
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Green prawns are uncooked Fae, not sure of their availability in San Fran, but if you are able to get fresh cooked prawns that have never been frozen they will be equally pleasing
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Just lovely Mrs R. I will be trying the Mayo and wasabi combo very shortly. The 7 year old tried wasabi again today and stated adamantly that he would never try it again, too much hotness! I adore all prawns but especially when they are green and uncooked. We did buy some especially sweet little cooked ones when we were up at South West Rocks. (Now if only I had a specially appointed ‘prawn peeler’, oh hangabout, that’s me….)
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Yeah I get it, chief deboner, prawn peeler, fish filleter. The lengths I go to just to please the other half! This is a a ripper idea, especially if you but cooked prawns, I’m too pedantic for my own good!
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Omgggg I love this 🙂
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It’s a delicious dish that’s for sure, enjoy….
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