Prawn Burgers with Cabbage Slaw

Prawn Burgers with Cabbage Slaw recipe

We all know Valentine’s Day is a load of old balls, but a little romance never hurt anyone. Having just celebrated our silver wedding anniversary, I can definitely attribute my cooking skills to one of the reasons we are still together. We love eating together; anything from a cheap takeaway to a posh steak, but a special occasion calls for something, well, special. These Prawn Burgers with Cabbage Slaw are special, but they are totally kerfuffle free.

Prawns are special occasion food, mainly as they are expensive; 300g of raw king prawns are hardly a diamond ring, but these burgers are made with love. And, thank God, minimal effort. The raw prawns are blitzed in your mixer with some coriander, ginger and garlic for flavour and an egg white and cornflour for ballast. Fashion these into two burgers, coat in panko breadcrumbs and fry until golden. The cabbage slaw is another effort free addition but adds crunch and tang; it’s so worth the minute it takes to make it. A big thank you to Good Food for the inspiration.

Serve these in toasted buns with a slather of sriracha mayo, and a huge dollop of love and affection.

I’ve now made these Prawn Burgers 3 times in a week, and I have to say, they just get better and better. Such simple ingredients and flavours but they taste amazing. These don’t have to be a treat, you can get great value frozen prawns, so no need to save them for special.

Make a start by pre heating the oven to keep your burgers piping hot later. Next, rinse and pat dry your prawns. Tip half of them into your food processor or mixer and blitz with the fresh coriander, ginger and garlic and a big pinch of salt.

Now add the cornflour and the egg white and process again.

Once combined, add the rest of the prawns and pulse to just chop, you don’t want to puree them.

Divide the mix into two equal portions. Don’t panic it will be quite sticky, so use damp hands to shape it into burgers. Dip these into your panko crumbs, pressing and sprinkling, and ensure they’re coated all over.

You can chill these now until needed. When you’re ready to cook, heat a couple of centimetres of oil in a non stick frying pan until a breadcrumb sizzles when you drop one in. Add your prawn burgers and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, pressing down to flatten a little as you do so. They’re cooked once they’re piping hot, golden brown and springy to the touch. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sides.

These couldn’t be simpler. Cut a thick slice of white cabbage then shred it. Stir through the lemon juice, mayonnaise and chopped coriander. For the sriracha mayo, mix the mayonnaise with the sriracha sauce; it’s not rocket science.

Dinner is now served. Slather the buns with the mayo then layer slaw onto the bottom bun.

Top with your hot prawn burgers and that’s it, this is seafood heaven. Serve with fries on the side and some leaves, unless you’re serving these to Clyde, who think leaves are a travesty.

To Hell with all the forced Valentine’s romance, my recipe for love is made up of watching terrible TV together, drinking embarrassing cocktails and enjoying far too much good food. This is the only recipe you need, along with the 1,000’s of amazing ones here on Lucy Loves.

Lucy x

Prawn Burgers with Cabbage Slaw recipe

Serves 2 hungry diners, or 4 not so hungry

You will need a food processor or mixer and a good sized frying pan

Prawn Burgers

300g raw king prawns

A generous pinch salt

2 tablespoons fresh coriander

1 clove garlic, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon from a jar

1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger, or from a jar

1 small egg white

1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour

75g panko breadcrumbs

Oil for shallow frying

Cabbage Slaw

A thick slice white cabbage, shredded

Juice half a lemon

1 heaped tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

Sriracha Mayo

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sriracha

Toasted brioche buns, fries, sweet potato or regular, and leaves to serve

Pre heat your oven to keep your prawn burgers warm later.

Wash and dry your prawns on kitchen paper. Tip half of them into your food processor and blend with the garlic and ginger, coriander and pinch of salt. Add the cornflour and egg white and process again until blended. Add the rest of the prawns and pulse so just incorporated not puréed.

Scrape the mixture out and divide into two equal portions. Fashion the sticky mixture, with damp hands, into burger shapes. Press them into the panko crumbs, ensuring the prawn burger is entirely covered. Pop into the fridge until you’re ready to fry.

Take a large non stick frying pan and add a couple of centimetres of oil. Heat until a breadcrumb sizzles when you drop into the oil. Add the prawn burgers, press to flatten, and cook for around 4 minutes on each side. Keep turning them so they don’t get too brown. They’re ready when they’re piping hot in the middle and feel springy to the touch. Pop onto some kitchen paper to drain then keep warm in the oven while you finish up.

Toast the burger buns under the grill or in a dry pan until just turning golden. For the cabbage slaw, finely shred the cabbage then toss in the lemon juice, mayonnaise and chopped coriander until coated. For the sriracha mayo, stir the mayonnaise and sriracha together until just combined.

To serve, slather the top and the bottom of the toasted buns with the sriracha mayo then place a generous serving of slaw on the bottom bun. Place your hot prawn burger on top and serve with fries of some nature and maybe some leaves.