Prawn roll

Posted by Gary

Prawn roll

I had my heart set on a bug roll, that is, a Moreton Bay bug (slipper lobster) roll. I got to the seafood shop this morning, and there were no bugs, no lobsters either! There were prawns though, so I bought prawns for a prawn roll.

Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.

The motivation for this was again Lorraine Elliott who is better known as Not Quite Nigella. This week, Lorraine wrote about lobster rolls. 

Ingredients

  • Prawns (cooked and peeled)
  • Mayonnaise (I used Kewpie wasabi flavoured mayonnaise)
  • Pickled jalapeño peppers (chopped)
  • Red chilli (diced)
  • Bread roll (I bought a crusty baguette)
  • Butter (Lurpak spreadable)
  • Iodised salt
  • White pepper
  • Parsley (chopped)

Instructions

  1. In a bowl add some mayonnaise, the chopped jalapeño peppers, and chopped chilli. Mix with a fork and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Fold some chopped parsley into the spicy mayonnaise.
  3. Roughly cross-section cut the prawns and fold the prawn meat to the mayonnaise.
  4. Make a midline longitudinal incision along the baguette’s ventral surface and spread the two flaps apart with your thumbs to open the incision.
  5. Spread a nudge of butter on the incision surfaces of the baguette.
  6. Spread a little butter on the outside of the baguette.
  7. Toast the lateral surfaces of the baguette in a sandwich press.
  8. If you’ve added too much butter to the incision surfaces, some melted butter will bleed from the incision. The question I have for you though is, is there such a thing as too much butter?
  9. Once the baguette’s outer lateral surfaces are toasted, remove it and gently open the incision and spoon the prawns coated in spicy mayonnaise into the baguette’s buttery incision.
  10. Serve the prawn roll with a side salad of shredded lettuce, sliced cucumber, and halved cherry tomatoes.
  • King prawns
  • King prawns
  • Chopped pickled jalapeño peppers and diced red chilli.
  • Wasabi mayonnaise
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers and Chilli
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, and prawns.
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, prawns and parsley..
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, prawns and parsley..
  • Baguette
  • Incised Baguette
  • Buttered Baguette
  • Buttered Baguette
  • Buttered Baguette
  • Toasted buttered baguette
  • Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.
  • Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.

Final thoughts

I am a little disappointed I couldn’t get a Moreton Bay bug today; however, the prawns were a reasonable substitute.

The spicy mayonnaise complemented the prawns nicely, and the warm buttery baguette provided great contrasting mouthfeel. As far as rolls go, this prawn roll was pretty good.

What would you prefer? Lobster? Bug? Prawns?

Postscript

After chopping and dicing the pickled jalapeño peppers and chilli, I had to attend the water closet.

Without going into any inappropriate detail, I will be buying disposable gloves to wear on my hands for when I chop and dice pickled jalapeño peppers and chilli. This experience took the shine off, enjoying eating the prawn roll.

14 Responses

  1. Sorry about not finding the lobster but your prawns with the jalapeño with chilli and wasabi sounds great. I always have shrimp in the freezer and will be giving your recipe a try soon. Thanks for the inspiration and warning. 😊

    Reply

  2. That looks great Gary!! I love that you toasted it (and no there’s no such thing as too much butter). Sorry to hear about the postscript but I have issues with my hands and contact lenses whenever I cut chilli!

    Reply

  3. How lovely and full of flavour. I too was inspired by Lorraine’s post to purchase some lobster tails which are usually available at the local deli but your idea with prawns is also brilliant and I keep green prawns in the freezer for when inspiration strikes. Jalapeno with chilli and wasabi is brilliant, great flavours for a tasty bun. Shame about your hot finger experience, but in your eyes is much worse (P.S. I am female). Thanks for a weekday lunch suggestion.

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Merryn. I agree, eyes would be much worse in terms of excruciating pain. Gloves will be worn from now on.

      Reply

  4. This looks great! With Lent coming up for our family, I think I will make prawn rolls for lunch on Fridays. Cheers!

    Reply

  6. I saw that exact situation on An episode of The F Word where chefs returned from the WC doubled over in agony. Love the step by step photos. A good bread makes all the difference in a satisfying dining experience.

    Reply

Hi there, leave a comment if you want.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.