How to poach a prawn

Fragrant Asian hotpot

How to poach a prawn

by Great British Chefs8 December 2014

How to poach a prawn

The sweet, meaty flavour of prawns makes them perfect contenders for poaching. This following method helps to retain moisture and gives the opportunity to add flavour by adding aromatics to the poaching liquid.

Method

1
Start by adding a cold poaching liquor of your choice to a saucepan
2
Add the shelled and deveined, raw prawns and gently heat the liquid
3
Cook on a gentle heat until the prawns have changed colour and are just opaque - this should take about 3 minutes. be careful not to overcook the prawns, or they will become rubbery and unpleasant

Variations

Extra flavour can be added to the poached prawns by using a stock, or flavouring the water with herbs and spices. Marcus Wareing poaches prawns in an Asian-inspired stock using a combination of miso paste, tomato purée, star anise, fresh coriander, lime juice and chicken stock.

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