Honey Glazed Prawns Starter

Prawns starter with a sweet and sticky honey glaze, cooked just enough to get a few crispy bits on the outside. A quick and easy starter and the best way to begin any meal. Sat on a bed of griddled asparagus and courgette strips; the wonderful bright pink of the glazed prawns stands out against the crunchy greens and makes for a really impressive prawn starter if you have friends for dinner. Its also a great option for a Christmas prawn starter.

The best thing about this honey glazed prawns starter is even though it looks impressive, its really quite easy to prepare and cook! This lovely dish can also be prepared ahead of time with just a final quick fry off in the pan needed before serving up.

🍯 How to create a honey glaze

The honey glaze for this prawns starter is created by mixing together a simple honey, chilli and garlic dressing, which is poured over the prawns during cooking. The prawns are then transformed into glazed prawns by frying with the dressing until lovely and sticky. The bed of green veggies can be griddled in advanced, so when your ready to serve they just need 5 or 10 minutes in a hot oven before piling onto a plate.

🥘 What you will need to make this recipe

To make this recipe for 4 people you will need the following ingredients:

• 300 g fresh, raw king prawns 
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 garlic clove (minced, grated or finely chopped)
• 1 red chilli (seeds removed and chilli finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp Mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
• 20 g parsley (roughly chopped)
• 2 courgettes
• 125 g asparagus tips
• Extra oil and pepper for serving (optional)

Substitutions: If you can’t get hold of any Mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine) you can substitute this with 1 tsp of caster sugar mixed with 1 tbsp of either white wine, white wine vinegar or dry sherry.

🔪 Recipe instructions

Preparing the vegetables: 

1. cut the asparagus in half, length ways and slice the courgette into ribbons using a peeler.
2. Place a griddle pan on a high heat. Place the prepared veggies in a bowl and drizzle over 2 of the tablespoons of olive oil. Toss well to fully coat.
3. Lay the vegetables side by side in the hot pan, you may have to do this in batches. Leave the vegetables on one side and press with a spatula to get griddle marks and a slight charring. Flip over after a couple of minutes. Repeat this until you achieve a colour you are happy with.
4. Place cooked vegetables into a seal-able container with kitchen towel at the bottom to prevent any sogginess. The container can be placed in the fridge until ready to serve later.

Preparing the prawns

1. Prepare the prawns by skewering 3 or 4 onto 15cm wooden skewers.
   (I could only find skewers twice this length in my local shop, so had to cut them down – watch out for any sharp edges that may need filing).
2. In a small bowl mix together the remaining tablespoon of olive oil with 2 tbsp honey, minced clove of garlic, chopped chilli, 1 tbsp mirin rice wine and chopped parsley. Both the sauce and skewered prawns can be placed in seal-able containers in the fridge until you are ready to cook and serve.

Cooking the prawns

1. Transfer the chilled, griddled veggies to a baking tray and place in a hot oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until they start to sizzle.
2. Meanwhile, put the griddle pan back on the heat. Once the pan is hot place in the skewered prawns and pour over the honey garlic dressing. Cook the skewers on each side until the prawns are bright pink and the sauce has become thick and sticky. Cooked prawns can be placed on a tray in low oven to keep warm.

To serve

1. Divide the hot vegetables amongst the serving plates and pile in the middle. Or serve on one large platter.
2. Arrange the griddled prawn skewers on top of the bed of vegetables and finish off with a drizzle of oil and grind of black pepper.

💭 Recipe tips for prawns starter

🍤 Prawn starters

An alternative prawns starter to these honey glazed prawns is this simple Chinese prawns recipe, which you could serve up on cocktail sticks with a garnish of chopped spring onions. 

If a hot prawns starter isn’t going to fit in with your meal or timings, why not try a prawn starter recipe you can prepare in advance and serve cold? Have a look at Cucumber canapés with prawns, or make your own sushi rolls with prawns.

Alternatively avocado and prawn starters are always really easy to prepare and the pink and green always looks so good together. Have a look at my collection of easy avocado recipes – some of which could be served  with pre cooked prawns to create a lovely cold prawn starter recipe. For example: prawns with mango and avocado salad or prawns served on mini pancakes with spicy, simple guacamole dip.

🎄 Christmas day starters and recipes

If you’re thinking of using this starter for Christmas day then its great when served up as a platter. The little skewers make it really easy for people to help themselves. 

For more ideas for your Christmas Day feast have a look at:

• Cucumber canapes with prawns,
• Sprouts in gorgonzola sauce,
• Honey glazed carrots and parsnips,
• Green bean almondine,
• Foil pack potatoes,
• Cranberry sauce,
• Roast beef dinner with leeks in cheese sauce. (for an alternative to turkey)

And once Christmas is done and dusted heres a couple of ideas for that leftover turkey: Leftover turkey risotto and Mulligatawny soup.

Let me know what you think of this Prawns starter recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! You can also save the recipe on pinterest: Honey glazed prawn starter.

📋 Honey Glazed Prawns Starter with Griddled Greens

Sticky, honey glazed prawns with griddle asparagus and courgette ribbons. A tasty alternative to a Christmas prawn cocktail.

4 from 4 votes

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Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 175.8kcal

Author @ ProperFoodie: Debbie

Ingredients

• 300 g fresh uncooked king prawns
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped or minced)
• 1 red chilli seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
• 20 g parsley chopped
• 2 courgettes
• 125 g asparagus tips
• Extra oil and pepper for serving

Instructions

For the vegetables:

• First prepare the vegetables by cutting the asparagus in half, length ways and slicing the courgette into ribbons using a peeler. For best results with the courgette; peel along the length until you reach the seeds in the middle. Then turn the courgette and repeat until all sides have been peeled.
• Place a griddle pan on a high heat. Place the prepared veggies in a bowl and drizzle over 2 of the tablespoons of olive oil. Toss well to fully coat.
• Lay the vegetables side by side in the hot pan, you may have to do this in batches. Leave the vegetables on one side and press with a spatula to get griddle marks and a slight charring. Flip over after a couple of minutes. Repeat this until you achieve a colour you are happy with.
• Place the pan unwashed to one side, ready to reuse for the prawns.
• Place cooked vegetables into a seal-able container with kitchen towel at the bottom to prevent any sogginess. The container can be placed in the fridge until ready to serve.

For the prawns

• Prepare the prawns by skewering 3 or 4 onto 15cm wooden skewers. (I could only find skewers twice this length in my local shop, so had to cut them down – watch out for any sharp edges that may need filing).
• In a small bowl mix together the remaining tablespoon of olive oil with 2 tbsp honey, minced clove of garlic, chopped chilli, 1 tbsp mirin rice wine and chopped parsley. Both the sauce and skewered prawns can be placed in seal-able containers in the fridge until you are ready to cook and serve.

Cooking the prawns

• Transfer the chilled, griddled veggies to a baking tray and place in a hot oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until they start to sizzle.
• Meanwhile, put the griddle pan back on the heat and place in the skewered prawns. Pour over the sauce and cook on each side until the prawns are bright pink and the sauce has become thick and sticky. Cooked prawns can be placed on a tray in low oven to keep warm
• If you think your prawns are cooked but the sauce isn't yet thick or sticky, then remove the prawns and place in a low oven and bring the sauce to a simmer and heat until its the right consistency. Drizzle the sauce over the prawns before it cools and sets.

To serve

• Divide the hot vegetables amongst the serving plates and pile in the middle. Or serve on one large platter.
• Arrange the griddled prawn skewers on top of the bed of vegetables and finish off with a drizzle of oil and grind of black pepper..

Nutrition

Serving: 182g | Calories: 175.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.4g | Protein: 15.2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.7g | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 224.9mg | Sugar: 6.3g | Vitamin A: 117.3IU | Vitamin C: 29.4mg | Calcium: 64.7mg | Iron: 1.6mg

Notes

For best results when preparing the courgette: peel along the length until you reach the seeds in the middle. Then turn the courgette and repeat until all sides have been peeled.

Pan fry in batches: both the vegetables and the prawns can be pan fried in batches if it won’t all fit in the pan at the same time. The vegetables can be chilled in the fridge and the prawns can be kept warm in a low oven

To reheat the vegetables: Place the chilled, cooked veggies on a baking tray and heat in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes or until sizzling.

Best way to cook prawns: The best way to cook prawns for this recipe is to pan fry them, in order to create the sticky honey glaze. However, if you just want to cook the prawns without a glaze you can simply stir fry with oil or gentle poached in simmering water. Prawns are cooked once they turn bright pink all over.

Wooden skewers: I used long wooden skewers broken in half to create smaller 15cm long sticks.

Getting a sticky finish on your glazed prawns: You may find that your prawns are cooked but the sauce isn’t thick or sticky enough. If this is the case, rather than over cook the prawns, remove them from the pan and place in a low oven to keep warm. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer in the pan and continue to heat until its the right consistency. Drizzle the sauce over the prawns before it cools and sets.

Reheating cooked prawns: You can reheat prawns if you have cooked earlier on in the day. Just make sure that the cooked prawns are fully cooled and then chilled and stored in the fridge until needed. Use your cooked and chilled prawns within 24 hours. If you have bought pre-cooked prawns, follow the packet instructions.

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