Thai · Free recipe
Chili-Lime Grilled Prawns
Shell-on prawns soak up a punchy marinade of lime, garlic, fish sauce, and bird's eye chili before hitting a hot grill. The shells char and blister, trapping juices inside, and a final drizzle of reserved marinade keeps them slick, sour, and fiery.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 6 min
- Total
- 46 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Method
-
Stir the lime juice, zest, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and chilies until the sugar dissolves, and set aside 1/4 cup of this mixture for serving.
-
Toss the prawns with the remaining marinade and the oil and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, no longer, or the lime will start to turn them mushy.
-
Heat a grill to high, around 450F to 500F, scrape the grates clean, and wipe them with an oiled paper towel.
-
Thread the prawns onto skewers or lay them directly across the grates and grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side until the shells are bright orange with charred spots and the flesh is just opaque.
-
Pile the prawns onto a platter, spoon the reserved sauce over them, and scatter with cilantro, serving lime wedges alongside.
Zest note from the test kitchen
Deveining through a slit in the back of the shell lets the marinade reach the meat while the shell still protects it from drying out on the grill.
