Spicy prawn cocktail is a classic starter dish in which juicy prawns are tossed in pink Marie Rose sauce with an added punch. A classic 80's starter dish that never goes out of style. You can serve it as a starter like bang bang shrimp, or as salad, or along with any main dish.Â
1teaspoonhot saucelike Tabasco sauce sriracha hot sauce or any hot sauce
1tablespoonhorseradishfinely grated creamed (I skipped)
¼teaspoonground pepper
¼teaspoonsalt adjust to taste
1teaspooncayenne pepper (reduce if you can't handle heat)
1teaspoonWorcestershire sauce
Instructions
First, make the prawn cocktail sauce. Whisk together mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, hot sauce, pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper, and dash freshly grated horseradish (if available) in a bowl. Refrigerate until use.
Add salt, black peppercorns, and bay leaves to water, and bring it to a boil.
Add peeled, deveined prawns to the boiling water. If you choose to use whole prawns with shells, devein the prawns before cooking. It’s so hard to devein after it’s cooked.
Cook/blanch until prawns are pink, slightly firm but cooked through. It will take 3-5 minutes. Do not overcook prawns.
Drain immediately well (discard peppercorns and bay leaf). Let it cool completely. You can store cooked prawns in the refrigerator ready to serve this starter.
When ready to serve toss cooked prawns in Marie Rose sauce. Toss well to coat every prawn evenly in the sauce.
Fill the martini or wine glass (or any other glassware) with lettuce leaves and serve cocktail sauce dolled prawns on top with lime (or lemon) wedges on the sides.Alternatively, you can use iceberg lettuce cups and serve prawns in them. If serving in lettuce cups, do not shred all lettuce leaves, keep a few lettuce cups whole.
Sprinkle a little cayenne pepper on top of prawns and enjoy!
Video
Notes
The secret is to use fresh prawns for the best taste. Frozen prawns when defrosted, turn watery and tasteless.
Use the biggest king-size raw prawns for this recipe. You don’t want to be searching for tiny prawns through the sauce.
Don’t overcook prawns. Nothing worse than rubbery overcooked prawns.
If you choose to use whole prawns with shells, devein the prawns before cooking. It’s so hard to devein it after it’s cooked.
Before tossing cooked prawns in sauce cool it completely.
Cooked prawns and cocktail rose Marie sauce can be made ahead and stored separately in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. Toss prawns in sauce only before serving.
 Peeling prawns and deveining them needs practice. Prep time does not include peeling and deveining prawns, as I got it done from the shop where I bought prawns. If you plan to peel and devein prawns keep in mind the extra time needed to prep prawns. Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.