Prawn Skewers with Green Mango Salsa

Lunch | Australian

Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 5 min Servings: 4

Prawns are an Australian Christmas staple and this BBQ version takes it to the next level. The prawns themselves are simple: peeled, seasoned with olive oil and salt, and cooked on a hot flat plate for about 4 minutes. The work is in the salsa. Green mango, toasted coconut, shallot, chilli and lime is sharp, crunchy and fresh, and it cuts through the richness of the prawns in a way that a ripe mango just doesn’t. Green mango has a firm texture and a bright tartness that holds up on the plate and keeps the whole dish feeling light even in the summer heat.

The whole thing can be completely prepped ahead, which is exactly what you want when you’re cooking for a crowd. Thread the prawns, make the salsa, keep everything in the fridge, and you’re 4 minutes away from serving when the BBQ is hot. Flat metal skewers are worth tracking down for this. They keep the prawns from spinning when you flip them and make the whole cook significantly easier. If you’re serving this at Christmas, it’s the kind of dish that looks impressive and takes almost no effort once the prep is done.

Ingredient Notes

Green mango: Green mango is unripe mango, and the key difference from ripe mango is the texture and flavour. It’s firm and starchy with a sharp, tangy edge that works like a citrus element in the salsa. You’ll find it at Asian or Indian grocery stores where it’s used widely across South-East Asian cooking. If you absolutely can’t find it, a firm, slightly underripe mango is the closest substitute, but the flavour will be noticeably sweeter and milder and won’t have the same acidity that makes the salsa work against the prawns.

Flat metal skewers: Round skewers let prawns rotate when you try to flip them, so individual pieces end up facing away from the heat and cook unevenly. Flat skewers grip the prawns and the whole skewer flips cleanly as one unit. They’re reusable, inexpensive, and available at most kitchenware stores. If you only have wooden skewers, soak them in cold water for at least 30 minutes before use so they don’t char on the grill. Thread each prawn through both the head end and the tail so it lies flat.

Coconut flakes: Use coconut flakes (the larger, wider shards) rather than desiccated coconut (the fine dry powder) for texture in the salsa. The flakes give you something to bite into. Toast them in a dry pan over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing often, until golden. They go from golden to burnt very quickly so keep a close eye on them and pull them off the heat as soon as they colour. Let them cool completely before adding to the salsa.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Vegetable peeler
Flat metal skewers (x8)
Wire rack over tray
BBQ flat plate or griddle pan
Tongs
Medium bowl

Ingredients

24 raw large prawns
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt, to season
lime wedges, to serve
Salsa
1 green mango
35g (½ cup) coconut flakes, toasted
1 shallot, finely diced
1 long green chilli, deseeded and finely diced
zest and juice of 2 limes
sea salt, to season

Directions

Prep the prawns
Peel and devein your prawns. Skewer the prawns onto 8 flat metal skewers, going through both the head and tail to create a curve of the prawn.
Place on a wire rack over a tray, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Make the salsa
Toast the coconut if it’s not already toasted, just in a dry pan over medium high heat until golden.
Peel the mango skin using a vegetable peeler, then finely dice the flesh. You want it to be the same size dice as your chilli and shallot.
Place in a medium bowl with the coconut, diced shallot, diced chilli, lime zest and juice. Season with some salt and mix well to combine.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
BBQ and serve
Preheat the BBQ flat plate over high heat. Drizzle the prawns with the oil on both sides and season with salt.
Cook the prawns for 2 minutes on one side until they change colour, then flip and cook for a further two minutes.
Transfer the skewers to a serving platter and spoon over the salsa. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Thread the prawns through two points so they lie flat

Thread each prawn through both the thick head end and the tail end so the prawn lies flat against the skewer rather than hanging loose. This gives you full contact with the flat plate on both sides and even cooking across the whole prawn. If the prawn is only threaded once it curls up as it cooks, which means parts of it are lifted off the heat. Combined with flat skewers, this approach gives you a cleaner flip and a much more consistent result across all 24 prawns.

Don’t overcook the prawns

Prawns cook fast. Two minutes per side on a hot flat plate is all they need. The visual cue is colour: raw prawns are translucent and grey, cooked prawns are opaque and pink all the way through. Pull them off the heat the moment they’re opaque. Overcooked prawns are rubbery and there’s no fixing that once it happens. If you’re unsure, take one skewer off early and check the thickest part of the prawn before committing to pulling them all off.

Storage

Keep cooked prawns and salsa covered and refrigerated separately. Cooked prawns keep for up to 2 days in the fridge. The salsa is best on the day it’s made but keeps overnight. Do not freeze cooked prawns as the texture becomes watery when thawed.

FAQs

Can I prep this ahead of time? Yes, and I’d recommend it. Thread the prawns and make the salsa the day before. Keep both covered in the fridge. On the day, preheat the BBQ and cook the prawns for 4 minutes. That’s it.

Can I cook these without a BBQ? Yes. A cast iron griddle pan over high heat on the stovetop works well and gives you good char marks. A grill or broiler also works but you won’t get the same caramelisation on the flat side. Whatever you use, get it very hot before the prawns go on and don’t move them for the first 2 minutes.

Can I use a ripe mango instead of green? You can, but the salsa will be noticeably sweeter and won’t have the same sharp contrast with the prawns. If using ripe mango, ease back on the lime juice slightly so it doesn’t tip too acidic. A firm, just-ripe mango works better than a very soft one as the texture holds up better in the salsa.