Hairy Bikers Prawn Tacos Recipe

These Hairy Bikers prawn tacos are chipotle, ancho and cocoa glazed prawns on warm tortillas, with jalapeño coleslaw underneath and mango salsa on top. From Ultimate Comfort Food, the recipe makes 16 small tacos for 4 people, at 725 calories a person and 65 minutes start to finish.

“You’ll find it hard to stop eating them”, Si and Dave warn in Ultimate Comfort Food, and a cocoa marinade is the reason. Because a teaspoon of cocoa goes in with the ancho, chipotle and lime, and the leftover marinade is simmered into a glaze for the prawns.

Salt the shredded cabbage and grated carrot in a colander for half an hour, because they drop their water there instead of into your tacos. So the soured cream dressing stays thick, which matters when it sits under hot prawns in a soft tortilla.

Hairy Bikers Prawn Tacos Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Frying Cuisine:British Mexican Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 20 minutesRest time: 30 minutesTotal time:1 hour 5 minutesServings:4 Calories:725 Best Season:Summer

Description

Chipotle and ancho prawns sit in lime while the slaw veg sheds its water, then about 20 minutes of cooking brings it all together. Pile slaw, glazed prawns and mango salsa into warm mini tortillas and let everyone build their own.

Ingredients

For the coleslaw

• ½ pointed green cabbage, shredded
• 1 large carrot (about 200g), grated
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 habanero chilli (hot) or jalapeño (milder), very finely chopped
• 150ml soured cream
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano (Mexican if you can get it)
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

For the prawns

• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp chipotle paste (or chipotles en adobo)
• 1 tbsp ancho chilli paste
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp light brown soft sugar
• 500g raw peeled prawns
• butter or ghee, for frying
• salt and black pepper

For the mango salsa

• 1 large mango, peeled and finely diced
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• a few coriander sprigs, finely chopped

To serve

• 16 small (mini) flour tortillas
• lime wedges

Instructions

1. Salt the veg: Put the shredded cabbage and grated carrot in a colander set over a bowl, then mix in the ½ tsp salt. Leave for at least half an hour, until they have given up some liquid and shrunk a little.
2. Marinate the prawns: Meanwhile, mix the lime zest and juice, olive oil, chipotle and ancho pastes, cocoa and sugar in a bowl and season. Then stir in the prawns and leave them for at least half an hour too.
3. Make the salsa: Mix the mango, red onion, lime zest and juice and coriander together, then season with salt and pepper.
4. Finish the coleslaw: Tip the cabbage and carrot into a clean bowl and add the chilli, soured cream, onion and garlic powders, oregano and vinegar. Mix well, then taste and add more salt and some pepper if it needs it.
5. Warm the tortillas: Line a basket or bowl with a tea towel. Then heat each tortilla in a dry pan, ideally not non-stick, for a few moments a side and tuck it under the towel.
6. Fry the prawns: Drain the prawns well, keeping the marinade, and pat them dry. Then melt the butter or ghee in a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the prawns until pink on both sides, then lift them out.
7. Glaze them: Pour the saved marinade into the pan and simmer it until piping hot. Then return the prawns and heat them through just before serving.
8. Fill the tacos: Spoon coleslaw into each tortilla, then add prawns and top with mango salsa. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

FAQs

Is there an easier Hairy Bikers prawn taco?

Yes, their Eastern prawn tacos in Make It Easy skip the salting and the glaze, and they print 406 calories a serving. Because 400g of raw tiger prawns sit briefly in lime zest, garlic, ginger and sesame oil, then hit a very hot griddle until pink.

The sauce is crunchy peanut butter, lime, fish sauce and honey, spread on 8 corn tortillas and topped with sliced raw veg and herbs. So everyone builds their own at the table, which is exactly how they describe sharing it.

Should I follow the book or the BBC version?

Either, because they are the same tacos with three small differences, and the first is servings. Where they write 4 servings in the book, BBC lists 4 to 6, so at 6 my count drops to about 485 calories each. And BBC fries each tortilla in ghee for 1 to 2 minutes a side, while in the book they go into a dry pan briefly.

BBC also reduces the marinade until it coats the back of a spoon, rather than stopping at piping hot. So I cook from the book but borrow that longer simmer, because the thicker glaze clings to the prawns.

How long do the prawns take to fry?

They stop at pink, so for timing I use their chilli prawn pasta, where raw prawns get 1 to 2 minutes a side. Pat them dry first and fry in batches if the pan is crowded, since wet prawns stew instead of browning.

And the saved marinade must bubble until piping hot before the prawns go back in, because raw prawns sat in it.

Can I swap the chipotle or ancho paste?

For the chipotle, yes, because they allow chipotles en adobo in the book, which the BBC version leaves out. But they give no swap for the ancho paste, so I buy it, and Mexican oregano is the one they prefer in the slaw.

The rest of the chipotle jar goes in their turkey chilli, which takes 1 to 2 teaspoons, or their chicken enchiladas sauce, which takes 2.

Can I make any of it ahead?

The salsa and finished slaw hold in the fridge for a few hours, though the slaw loosens the longer it sits. But I would not leave the prawns much past an hour in the marinade, since the lime juice begins firming them before they cook.

Leftover cooked prawns keep covered in the fridge until the next day, and I eat them cold in a wrap rather than heating them twice.