Asked on 1 Dec 2018 by Hil
I have Delia's Summer book. Thought I would try the hot and sour pickled prawns. I have had them pickling for 3 days now and just checked that they should be raw when pickled (nothing indicates that they should be cooked). Someone else asked the same question and you answered that they should be cooked. Why doesn't it say this in the recipe? It may seem obvious to an expert but the average reader is guided by the recipe, which mentions peeling and dethreading them. Dethreading the black waste matter is usually done when the prawns are raw - hence my assumption that they should be raw. Now I appear to have wasted time and resources on prawns that can't be eaten. Or can they? Please advise.
Hello,
I’m so sorry that you have had a problem with this recipe.
When the Summer Book was published 25 years ago it wasn’t possible to buy raw Mediterranean prawns in the UK like it is now.
The online version does state cooked prawns.
You do need to be careful with raw prawns, and even more so if you’re serving them to anyone that is sick, young or elderly.
You could cook them gently in the marinade, in a saucepan, until they are pink and firm, then cool and serve.
Hot and Sour Pickled Prawns
Kind regards
Lindsey
sh, was it 25 years ago? OK. I will try cooking them for a couple of minutes. Thank you.
All the recipes I have tried from that book are really successful. That's why I didn't question this one (which I have never tried) until after preparation. I thought that maybe pickling would cook the prawns over time. Glad I checked.