If you've been following along for the last few posts, you might be wary of seeing yet another shrimp recipe. After recipes for hot and sour shrimp soup (tom yum goong), shrimp and glass noodles in a clay pot (goong ob woonsen), and a spicy Thai shrimp salad (pla goong), I wouldn't blame you if you were. But I really hope that you're not, because these grilled prawns with kaffir lime dressing are amazing!
I've been on the lookout for recipes that call for fresh kaffir lime juice ever since my little kaffir lime tree started producing limes. This recipe was one of the first that I came across and just from reading the ingredients list, I knew it would be good. So I've been patiently waiting, crossing my fingers that my kaffir limes would grow and develop well, just so I could try out this dish.
After months of waiting, I gingerly plucked one of my kaffir limes from its branch. I squeezed its pungent juice into a bowl along with juice from a pomelo, fish sauce, and some sugar to make a simple Thai dressing. The result was anything but simple, though, thanks to the exquisite aroma of the kaffir lime juice! This dressing is then poured on top of the rest of the ingredients -- grilled freshwater prawn meat, finely sliced young ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, red peppers, mint, and cilantro -- to create one of the most delightful shrimp salads I've ever had.
It really is the perfect dish to showcase your fresh kaffir lime juice.* So if you can stand one more shrimp dish, I would highly recommend trying this one!
*That said, if you don't happen to have fresh kaffir limes, I would imagine that this dish would still be incredible with regular lime juice.
Recipe
Grilled Prawns with Kaffir Lime Dressing | Saeng Wa Goong Pao | แสร้งว่ากุ้ง
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 6 large freshwater prawns
- 2 red Thai chili peppers
- 2 Tablespoons shallots finely sliced
- 1 Tablespoon lemongrass finely sliced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves finely sliced
- 2 Tablespoons young ginger finely sliced
- 1 Tablespoon red jalapeno pepper finely sliced
- 1 Tablespoon mint leaves
- 1 Tablespoon cilantro leaves
- Your choice of vegetables to serve the salad with long beans, cucumber, cabbage, etc
Dressing Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons kaffir lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons pomelo juice
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
Instructions
- Clean and devein the prawns, then grill over medium high heat until they are cooked through.
- Let the cooked prawns cool, then peel to obtain the meat. Leave one prawn unpeeled for final presentation if you like. Coarsely chop the prawn meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine the chopped prawn meat with all of the finely sliced herbs.
- Make your dressing by combining the kaffir lime juice, pomelo juice, sugar, and fish sauce. Taste and adjust as needed. Pour this dressing over the shrimp and herbs.
- Serve with fresh vegetables of your choice and enjoy!
adam @unorthodoxepicure
Very nice.