Spot Prawns are Here Again

Plump and juicy spot prawns are here for a limited time

Spot prawn season has begun in Vancouver and prices are wildly all over the place.

These prawns have white dots on their tails, while their carapace (the prawn head exoskeleton) have red and white stripes.

Every year around 2,450 metric tonnes of spot prawns are harvested, and about 65 percent are caught between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

Over 90 percent of the catch are exported to Asia, and we get the rest locally, for about a six-week period.

Last week spot prawns were around $50 a pound at T&T Supermarket, which was quite the sticker shock, and it made us wonder how much restaurants would be charging.

So we were quite relieved to see the price cut almost in half when we went to T&T yesterday, at just under $26/lb. And many other people were buying spot prawns too.

We bought one and a half pounds of the prawns that were wrapped in butcher paper and then placed in a plastic bag. On the way home I could periodically hear their tails batting at the paper.

At home we placed them in a colander with a plate on top and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

The best way to retain their natural flavour is by poaching the prawns in boiling water seasoned with ginger and scallions to temper the fishy smell.

To prepare the spot prawns, using scissors we clipped off the long antennae, its legs and the bottom edge of the tails before cooking them in the boiling water.

After about a minute or so the prawns are cooked, their bodies curled up.

We also make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, a bit of sweetness (maple syrup or honey), oil and chopped scallions.

Remove the head and the rest of the shell, dip the prawn meat into the sauce and eat! The meat is firm and sweet!