treateater Main Dishes, Seafood

Air Fryer Cajun Prawns

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Prawns are such a quick and easy protein source for easy weekday meals. They are wonderful because they are awesome at absorbing the flavours of any herbs and spices they are mixed with. One of my go-to dinner recipes is cajun prawns cooked in the air fryer. They are succulent, full of flavour and literally take less than 10 minutes to cook in the air fryer.

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Key Ingredients

(see below for full list of ingredients)

  • King Prawns: I use raw king prawns as I want them to be succulent once cooked.
  • Cajun Spice Blend: I make my own spice blend from smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, mustard powder, ground all spice and ground ginger.

How To Make Air Fryer Cajun Prawns

Step One: Pre-heat the air fryer at 200 °C (400 °F) for 5 minutes. I use my Ninja Air Fryer

Step Two: Mix together 2 tsp smoked paprika, 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper, 0.5 tsp mustard powder, 1/8 tsp ground all spice and 1/8 tsp ground ginger.

Step Three: Pour 4 tbsp melted butter and the spice blend from the previous step over 500 g raw king prawns and mix well.

Step Four: Spread the prawns out in an even layer on the crisper tray. Cook for 4 minutes.

Step Five: Turn the prawns over and cook for a further 4 minutes.

How To Serve Air Fryer Cajun Prawns

  • Serve with rice, lemon wedges and a garden salad.

Tips for Making Air Fryer Cajun Prawns

  • Don’t overcook the prawns as they will become tough in texture.

Air Fryer Cajun Prawns Recipe

Serves:
4		Preparation Time:
5 minutes		Cooking Time:
8 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g raw king prawns
  • 4 tbsp butter melted
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 0.5 tsp mustard powder
  • 1/8 tsp ground all spice
  • 1/8 tsp ground ginger

METHOD

  1. Pre-heat the air fryer at 200 °C (400 °F) for 5 minutes.
  2. Mix the spices together.
  3. Pour the melted butter and spices over the prawns and mix well.
  4. Spread the prawns out in an even layer on the crisper tray. Cook for 4 minutes. You might have to cook the prawns in two batches if your air fryer is small.
  5. Turn the prawns over and cook for a further 4 minutes.

NOTES

  • Serve with lemon wedges.
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treateater Entrées, Seafood

Easy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Bake

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This recipe is inspired by the flavours of an amazing seafood boil I had when I visited Seattle. It was such a fun eating experience (you know it’s going to be fun when you’re offered a plastic bib before the food has come out). The table was covered in paper (to soak up the mess) and an array of deliciously spiced seafood was placed in the middle. Knives and forks and other table etiquette were out the window for this meal as we dug into the shelled crab, lobster and shrimps with our hands.

Seafood boil consists of an array of shelled fish (typically lobster, crab and prawns), andouille sausage, corn and potatoes boiled in a seasoned broth and further flavoured with butter. This is a simple three step recipe that produces the authentic flavour of a seafood boil using prawns.

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Easy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Recipe

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g raw king prawns shelled and deveined
  • 250 g smoked pork sausage
  • 500 g peeled potatoes cut into chunks
  • 2 cobs of corn (each one cut into eighths)
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 0.5 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 0.5 tsp mustard powder
  • 0.25 tsp oregano
  • 0.25 tsp crushed pepper flakes
  • a pinch ground allspice (pimento)
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 3 tbsp butter melted

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 200 °C fan (220 °C conventional).
  2. Combine all the ingredients in a roasting tin and mix well.
  3. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes until the corn and potatoes are tender and the prawns are pink.

NOTES

  • For the sausage I used Matessons Original Smoked Pork sausage as I was unable to find andouille here in the UK.
  • To prepare the corn cut each cob into quarters and then cut each quarter in half along the cob.
  • Serve with salad and freshly baked baguette.

treateater Entrées, Main Dishes, Seafood

Crispy Garlic Prawns

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This is a super simple recipe for Chinese style prawns in a sweet and tangy garlic sauce. It can be made in minutes – the prawns are first fried up in a light batter before being coated the garlic sauce. I normally make this with the intention of being main dish for dinner, but the prawns are so delicious that we keep dipping in for a taste and before we know it there’s not enough for a meal. So this may be better categorised as a starter.

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Crispy Garlic Prawns Recipe

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g raw peeled king prawns
  • 3 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tsp room temperature water
  • 2 tsp reduced salt soy sauce
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

for the sauce:

  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 5 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 0.5 tsp finely ground black pepper

METHOD

  1. Prepare the prawns by scoring along the outside of each prawn. This will cause the prawns to splay out when cooked and adds to the crispness.
  2. Mix the batter ingredients (cornflour, water, soy sauce, egg yolk and sesame oil) together and stir in the prawns.
  3. Shallow fry the prawns in vegetable oil on a high heat in a deep frying pan until they are pink. Do this in three to four batches. It should take the prawns around 4 minutes on each side to cook.
  4. Drain the prawns on a plate lined with two sheets of kitchen roll. Remove excess oil from the frying pan and wipe down.
  5. Mix the sauce ingredients (honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper) together and add to the frying pan on a medium heat for around 2 minutes. Pour in the prawns and stir them through the sauce for a further 2 minutes.

NOTES

  • Serve with steamed basmati or jasmine rice, or over noodles.
  • If you’re a spice lover try adding a teaspoon of crushed dried chilli flakes to the sauce.
  • Toasted sesame seeds also make a perfect garnish for this dish.