Prawns with Quick Pickled Cucumber

I hadn't made quick pickled cucumber for a while but it is absolutely delicious in a salad like this or accompanying a stir fry.  This is a sensational, light starter but you could make it more substantial by adding more vegetables or noodles.

I love the mixture of the soft, tangy pickled cucumber, the gentle spicing from the pickle and sweet chilli sauce and the hot prawns and crunch of peanuts.


Truly delicious and actually pretty healthy.  If you use spray oil the sesame oil and natural oil in the peanuts is pretty much the only fat, no gluten and limited carbs but the best thing is it looks so beautiful.

Prawns with Quick Pickled Cucumber

Ingredients

5 large raw prawns, defrosted if frozen, peeled and deveined
Spray oil or 1 tsp vegetable oil
Half a cucumber
2-3 Radishes
1 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
Pinch sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Small hot chilli or a pinch of chilli flakes

To serve

A few leaves coriander (cilantro)
1 tsp Peanuts, chopped
2 tsp Sweet chilli sauce

Method

Use a potato or vegetable peeler to peel thin strips of cucumber, don't use the seeds but just the white section and green skin.  Put in a small bowl.

Mix the vinegar, sugar and oil together then stir in the chopped chilli or chilli flakes.  Pour over the cucumber strips then refrigerate for 15 mins or so.

Heat a non stick pan then add oil or spray oil.  When very hot, put in the prawns and fry on both sides until cooked.

Finely slice the radish into circles then assemble the dish by arranging some of the cucumber onto the plate (without too much of the pickling liquid so it's not watery) followed by the radish then drops of sweet chilli sauce.  Top with the prawns, scatter with the chopped peanuts and coriander and serve.