Chilli coconut prawns with rice

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

500g fresh raw tiger prawns shelled with tails intact
2 cups long grain rice
3 spring onions diced finely
olive oil for cooking
2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce
4 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1 clove of garlic crushed finely
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of ginger paste
250mls coconut milk with 1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of sambal olek (only if you like extra heat, alter to your liking)
handful of snow peas or you can use beans chopped (as i used beans)
2 Mangoes sliced into long pieces

In a large bowl prepare the marinade - Sweet chilli, light soy sauce, garlic, ginger, lime juice.  Place the prawns into the marinade and leave for 20 minutes mixing occasionally.

Boil the rice in a separate pot for ten minutes and drain.

In a large stove top pot or casserole / tagine place some olive oil and the spring onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, then place the prawns in and marinade a little more oil.  Then you can place the coconut milk, sambal olek, snow peas or beans and mango and cook for around 10 minutes until prawns cooked and taste to check the heat is how you like.

Scallop and calamari soup

Serves approx 6
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Preparation Time : 10 minutes

500ml Shellfish or Fish Stock ( I used Moredoughs)
200g squid tubes
250g scallops cleaned
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion chopped finely
1 celery stalk chopped finely
1 carrot chopped finely
2 small garlic cloves diced finely
1 fennel bulb trimmed and sliced thinly
250g chopped tomatoes
handful of italian parsley chopped finely
1/2 cup of dry white wine
pinch of cayenne pepper

2 cups of white rice


Heat oil in a medium sized casserole pot over the stove top.  Add the onion, celery, carrot, fennel, garlic, tomatoes and cayenne pepper and stir through.  Then add slowly the shellfish/fish stock.  Add the white wine and the parsley and cook on a medium heat slowly for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally. Top up with water if the stock gets too low.

Cook the rice for ten minutes in boiling water when ready to serve.  Place the rice in small bowls for ten minutes and flatten the top then you can flip them over when ready into a bowl and spoon the soup around the rice mound.  

In a fry pan place some oil and a little butter and cook the scallops and calamari for around 3 minutes on each side.  Then turn heat off.

Place a few scallops and calamari onto the top of the rice mounds in little bowls and ladle extra soup around the top of each.

Serve with crusty ciabatta bread.

Easy Paella

Preparation Time: ;10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 6

olive oil for cooking
2 cups of fresh chicken stock  (a little extra may be required)
1 1/2 cups of white rice (i use long grain)
1 small red onion diced
1/2 small red capsicum chopped
3 pieces of bacon diced
1/4 teaspoon of saffron threads
1 garlic clove chopped finely
1/4 cup of chopped tomato
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup of peas
salt and pepper
1 chorizo thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley finely chopped
24 fresh raw tiger prawns (shelled and deveined)
1 chicken breast cut into cubes
100g white fish (i use rockling) diced
100g fresh calamari cut into fine rings

In a large bowl place the rice and the chicken stock with the saffron threads and stir a little then let it sit for ten minutes so the saffron starts to infuse into the rice.

Heat a little olive oil in a large fry pan or electric wok.  Add the diced chicken and cook for around 5 minutes or until cooked.  Place chicken aside in a covered bowl. Then cook the fish, calamari and prawns in a fry pan with a little oil for around 5 minutes until cooked and set aside in another bowl.

In your pan/wok add the bacon, capsicum, onion, cayenne, tomato, garlic and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft.  Then add the chorizo, peas, parsley and a little shake of salt and pepper.  Add the rice and saffron stock mixture and mix well.

Bring to the boil slowly and then reduce the heat to low simmering for around 10 minutes.  Add more stock if you need to so it cooks the rice.  Add the chicken, prawns, calamari and fish to the top of the rice and push down gently . Cook for another 3 - 5 minutes until the rice is tender.

Serve in bowls with extra parsley on top.

The freshest seafood make the best paella.  If you like mussels you can cook some in a little white wine and onion first and wait until they open. Discard any unopened ones.  Set aside the cooked mussel in the liquid and add to your rice at the part where you add the seafood.

Sesame seed barbecued prawns

serves 4 (2 skewers each)

8 skewers ( soak skewers in cold water for half hour before preparing)
large stainless steel bowl
24 prawns (3 per skewer)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of sherry wine
1/2 lemon squeezed
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 sprigs of parsley chopped finely
Sesame seeds for coating after marinate part
Chopped square mango flesh
Limes quartered (3)
Lemons quartered (2)




Place prawns into sink and take off head and body shell leaving tail end shell. Try to de-vein as much as possible.

Place prawns into a large bowl set aside.

In large stainless steel bowl place the soy sauce, sherry wine, lemon juice, garlic clove, parsley and sugar then the prawns.  Stir through and place in fridge for 30 minutes only.

Take out of fridge after the 30 minutes and skewer 3 on each skewer with a piece of lime, mango and  lemon in between.  Roll them in the sesame seeds.  Barbeque for around 3 minutes on hot.

Delicious with extra lemon and lime quarters or mango slices.

Simple Prawn Cocktail

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

1 kg Cooked Prawns (freshest available)
2 avocados cut in quarters
Cos lettuce leaves separated
4 spring onions diced in to small lengths
2 limes cut in quarters
2 lemons cut in quarters


Place the lettuce on the base of the platter.  Then place the fresh water drained prawns on top with other ingredients.

So easy and so low fat and healthy!

The optional dressing used was Lemon and Lime Agrumato Poppyseed Dressing which is made in Yarrawonga Australia by "Rich Glen"   see www.richglenoliveoil.com  for their range of recipe ideas

Snapper with crispy potato coat

Preparation takes approx 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves per each  ( 1 potato mashed makes one coating for one fish)

Snapper fish (fresh Australian used)
Mashed potato (the creamiest potato is best)  microwave the potato diced with a little water then mash it
Lurpak butter for cooking the fish
Salt and pepper
Lemons cut into wedges

This is very easy and very tasty!

Press the fish to remove any excess bones in the pieces. Shake a little salt onto each side of the fish.

Then place the mashed potato onto the skinless side of the fish. Shake a little salt and pepper on top.

In a large fry pan turn on heat and add some lurpak.  Place the potato side face down in the pan.  Cook on medium heat until browning then flip over for another 3 minutes and then move to a foil lined baking tray in the oven to bake for a further 10- 15 minutes on 180 degrees.  This will make sure the fish is cooked through.  Serve with lemon wedges and home style fries.

Prawn and vermicelli Laksa

Serves 4
Preparation and Cooking Time:

For your Laksa paste :

1 small red mini hot chilli chopped finely
1 clove of garlic
1cm piece of fresh ginger
very small amount of coriander (optional)
1 teaspoon of tumeric powder
very tiny shake of cumin powder
handful of spring onion chopped
Splash of oil or butter (melted) to blend it together

Place all these ingredients into a food processor and blend into a paste.

Other ingredients :

400g prawns cooked
500ml fish stock (premium)
400ml coconut milk
handful of bean sprouts
Vermicelli noodles (half pack approx)
1 finely chopped red mini chilli
butter for cooking
fish sauce (optional) to taste (use soy if no fish sauce)
1 teaspoon of sugar

Garnishing:
2 thinly sliced pieces of a little hot red chilli
1/2 cucumber seeded and finely sliced for garnishing in thin long strips
1 lime (slices for garnishing)
1 Sprig of coriander
3 spring onions chopped thinly ( just the white parts up to the light green section )

Soak the vermicelli noodles in a large pot of boiled water while preparing the laksa.

If you do not like your Laksa too spicy hot then take some of the chilli seeds out before cooking

To prepare your Laska :

In a large saucepan place some peanut oil  and add some of your red chilli.  Then add the paste you prepared first as above.  Then you can add the prawns. Then add the coconut milk. Stirring through then you can add some fish stock (1 cup first and a little  more if it looks a little low) .  Add bean shoots then the vermicelli on top.  Let sink down and add a little fish sauce to taste. Then add the sugar.

Place into deep individual bowls to serve and place garnishing as desired.

Spaghetti with Chilli and Prawns

Spaghetti with Chilli and Prawns

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 pack of spaghetti (depending on how many eating)

400g Green Prawns

1 red chilli chopped finely and take out the seeds if you dont like it too hot

a few sprigs of fresh italian parsley finely chopped

1 flat teaspoon of garlic chopped finely

olive oil

salt and pepper if desired

Boil water for the spaghetti in a large saucepan to fit.  Cook for approx 10 minutes.

While your pasta is cooking in a frypan add some olive oil, prawns, garlic, chilli and parsley and cook for approx 5 minutes or until prawns are cooked through. Make sure to stir occasionally. Do not let the chilli burn  this is very important.

When the spaghetti is ready drain the water and then add the frypan ingredients to the cooked pasta and stir through.

Serve with a nice glass of white wine ( Moscato )

Enjoy!





Chilli Prawns with sesame seeds and rice towers

Chilli Prawns with sesame seeds and rice towers

Serves 4 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes with rice  and 20 mins marinade time

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Long grain white rice  - per serve 1/2 small cup of rice (50 - 60grams) makes one tower

a small plastic cup for rice tower (i used heinz baby basics cup without lid)

400g green prawns (100g per person average)

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of corn flour

1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil

1 teaspoon of garlic

1 red chilli (seeded) and chopped - you can use half if you dont like it too hot!

Handful of sesame seeds

1 Spring onion chopped finely (green part)

Cook your rice in boiling water for 10 minutes and drain with cold water.  Press rice into plastic cup firmly and then into fridge/chiller while preparing the prawns.

Place the prawns into a clean large bowl with the soy sauce, salt and pepper and corn flour and marinade for approx 20 minutes.

Prepare a frypan with some butter/oil.  Add the prawns and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add the garlic and chilli. Cook for another 2 minutes until blended.

Place rice tower on plate and then place prawns hot onto plate next to it and garnish prawns with sesame seeds and spring onion. Garnish the rice tower with fresh coriander leaves.

so delightful darlings....