Kataifi prawns

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Note: This is a scheduled post while I’m away, so replies to comments and emails will be slow. Enjoy!

I have a terrible habit of buying ingredients just because I’ve never seen them for sale before. I have no idea what to do with them and no plans for using them. My mind just goes “Oooooh,” and before I know it, I’m leaving the shop with it.

That’s how I ended up with a bag of kataifi pastry that sat around in the fridge for a month. Every time I saw it, I thought to myself, “Must cook that up.” But of course, once I closed the fridge, all thoughts of it disappeared.


Finally, the expiration date started looming, so I was forced to do something with it. The month that had passed hadn’t given me any inspiration, but fortunately there was a recipe on the back of the packet for kataifi prawns. Thank goodness for that recipe, because otherwise I probably would’ve had to throw it out!

Kataifi pastry look a bit like vermicelli. It’s made by pouring batter through a container with fine holes on to a heated metal plate that briefly cooks the pastry. It’s traditionally used for making sweets but can also be used for savoury items.

The recipe I followed for the prawns was super simple – the peeled prawns are dipped in egg, wrapped in the pastry, sprayed with oil, and then baked for ten minutes. I suppose it’s kind of comparable to filo pastry, but I found it much easier to work with because it didn’t need to be buttered. It also didn’t seem to dry out as easily.

And the result: excellent. Even with the short baking time, the pastry crisped up nicely and became crunchy. The prawns were just cooked and perfect – they could’ve used more seasoning but I did really like them with the pastry.

Next time I buy it I’ll be more inspired and do something other than prawns. I can just see myself wrapping everything in sight. 🙂

PS: For anyone searching for it, I found mine at the supermarket inside Footscray market.

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Kataifi prawns

Rating: 41

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Serving Size: About 4 prawns each

Kataifi prawns

Ingredients

  • 18 large prawns (about 850g)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • salt
  • 125g Kataifi pastry
  • olive oil spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
  2. Peel and de-vein the prawns, leaving the tails on.
  3. Place the pastry in a medium sized bowls and loosen with your finger tips until the strands are separated.
  4. Place about a heaped tablespoon of pastry on to a board and stretch it out to form a 15cm long strip. Cover the remaining pastry with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.
  5. Season the egg with salt. Dip a prawn into the beaten egg, then place it at one end of the pastry strip. Roll the pastry around the prawn.
  6. Place on a baking tray and repeat with the remaining prawns.
  7. Spray lightly with olive oil and bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden and crispy.

Notes

Recipe from the back of the Kataifi pastry packet.

https://www.offthespork.com/2012/09/kataifi-prawns/