lemongrass prawn skewers
Cooking for one tonight so just put together something with what was in the fridge (not much). There were some prawns I picked up at Wholefoods on a whim, and a few stalks of lemongrass, a couple of limes and chillies (from last saturday’s tom yam soup). I made a Vietnamese inspired marinade for the prawns, skewered them on the lemongrass to impart extra flavour as they cooked, and griddled them on a hot pan. The prawns came out really juicy with a lovely balance – sweet, salty and tangy, and just a hint of heat from the chillies. Don’t worry if the edges burn a bit as the sugar cooks – it just adds to the flavour! Serve with steamed rice and veg, or as I had them – on their own with plenty of lime juice squeezed over.
Lemongrass Prawn Skewers
serves 2
12 large prawns, peeled
5 stalks lemongrass
1 small (birds eye) chilli
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar
lime wedges (to serve)
Cut the chilli and 1 stalk of lemongrass finely and place in a bowl with the prawns. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Leave to marinate for 2-3 hours (or overnight).
When ready to cook, remove the prawns from the marinade and skewer onto the remaining lemongrass stalks – 3 prawns per stalk.
Heat a griddle pan on a high heat and cook the skewers, for 2-3 minutes on each side (depending on the size of your prawns) until coloured and cooked through. The prawns can also be grilled or barbecued if you prefer.
Serve immediately with a generous squeeze of lime juice.
gourmet traveller 
Sounds great! Love lemongrass but never cook with it. Must try it out sometime!
Cheers!
Unbelievably delicious!!! This does not look like just “something you put together” at all!!!
Grilled shrimp is delicious. Interesting, last night I bought skewers because I’ve been thinking I need to grill with skewers more. This recipe looks excellent because of all the different flavors. Question though, I was surprised by honey AND sugar, does this make it really sweet or does the complexity of the other flavors balance it?
The fish sauce has a fair amount of salt, as does the oyster sauce so it does balance it out. There’s no need to put both sugar and honey, you can always just use one and double up quantity-wise.
I’m making this tonight! I just so happen to have everything on hand including the lemon grass! It must be a sign ;).
Let me know how they turn out! I just noticed I left out the garlic from the recipe (added now) so don’t forget to throw that into the marinade as well!
I love the flavor that comes through grilling on the lemongrass skewers–lovely match of flavors in this dish!