Prawns a la plancha with nam jim

Prawns a la plancha with nam jim. Photo / Supplied

Serves 4

I love cooking on the plancha - Spanish for a hot metal plate - for the searing heat and golden crust you can get on seafood. The aromatic and spicy Thai sauce nam jim is the hottest condiment we use in the restaurant and is perfect with the prawns.

Nam jim dressing:
10 small red chillies, halved lengthwise, seeded and roughly chopped
3 stalks coriander, roots attached
2 cloves garlic
3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
50g palm sugar, grated
60ml fish sauce
250ml lemon juice

Place the chillies in a blender with the coriander, garlic and ginger. Pulse to a thick paste, then add the palm sugar. Continue to blend until the sugar has dissolved, before adding the fish sauce and lemon juice. Season to taste with more fish sauce if required. The dressing should be hot and sour.

Prawns a la plancha:
12 king prawns, peeled with heads left on
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp curry powder
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

1 De-vein the prawns by cutting down the back with a sharp knife and removing the thin black intestine. Rinse the prawns in cold water.

2 Mix the coriander seeds with the curry powder and oil, and marinate the prawns in this mixture for 20-30 minutes. Then insert a wooden skewer from the base of the tail towards the head of the prawn.

3 Grill the prawns on a hot plancha or saute in a hot frying pan. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve the prawns with the nam jim in a shot glass alongside.

* Recipes extracted from Martin Bosley by Martin Bosley, Godwit, $90. Available now.