I seasoned the shrimp with some ginger, garlic, five-spice powder, light/dark soy sauce, and throw them on the grill with their shells on. I prefer to leave their shells on when grilling, since it keeps them juicy and really enhances the flavor. The only downfall to cooking shrimp shell-on is that I know I'll have to peel B's for him. What a princess. 
Such a sacrifice for flavor, but all worth it in the end! Careful not to crowd the grill pan, I grilled them in a few batches. I found that 2-3 minutes on each side was sufficient cooking time. While the shrimp was working, I sauteed some fresh rice noodles with Japanese spinach, snap peas, onions, Serrano chilies and scallions. I flavored the noodles with sesame oil, mushroom sauce, dark soy and a pinch of sugar just to balance the heat.
5 Comments
Bookmole
02 Oct 2007 05:10 am
[this is good] Mmmmm. I is hungry now. And I haz no blue prawns!
They look divine, and are beautifully presented. One day, I will bother – maybe when the teenage guzzling machines have left home lol!
Caldwell
02 Oct 2007 06:10 am
Such big shrimp scares me! But when it’s prepared – it looks better.
reesie
02 Oct 2007 09:10 am
You can keep the tail blue by wrapping a small wet towel on it while cooking or by grilling it with it hanging off the grill (or use a piece of tin foil to help deflect some of the heat. Well… not that you want shrimp to be undercooked or anything.
Great photos of the shrimp. I really like the second plated photo (only without the distraction in the upper right hand corner).
Oh, and random question, but do you do white balance before you shoot indoor photos like this? I only say because it seems that the light is really really warm and I’m not sure if you wanted it to be like that (the food does look good in a warm light) or if you intended it to be more true (which sometimes gives the food a slightly blue-ish cast). Anyway, I always assume that you know what you’re doing so I don’t know why I even ask if you do a simple white balance before shooting. You probably do!!
cobalt_blue
02 Oct 2007 11:10 am
[this is good] marry me.
julie
10 Oct 2007 03:10 pm
Thanks, Bookmole! I bet it’s hard to cook for so many mouths.
Hi Caldwell, The prawns are cute not scary!
Hi Reesie, I’ll have to try that tip next time and yes, i do adjust the white balance before taking the picture. I prefer food pics to feel a bit warmer, but am still learning a lot as a beginning photographer.
Hey Colbalt Blue… only if you promise to peel your own shrimp
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