Desperate for Prawns

We made our own recipe for a rice dish that we make with chicken, prawns or both. Originally we bought a shrimp ring as it was the cheapest way but then we started seeing BOGOF or half price deals for bags. Same thing of course.

It worked out cheaper and the bonus was the prawns were bigger.

These deals came around so often we'd buy a few bags and when stocks were low we'd look for another deal to top up. We got used to paying $8 or £9 for 900g worth. Somewhere around $1 for 100g became a very common price, the deals came around to one of the four supermarkets so often. Funnily enough the generally most expensive one usually had the best prawn deal.

But over the last year, the good offers have stopped. The "normal" price has increased and package sizes have been reduced too.

$9 worth that used to provide for 2 or 3 dinners for five, according to whether we had chicken as well, might just about do one now. If padded out with chicken.

It's become a bit of a luxury. But the meal has always gone magnificently with a Rosé wine. And these days I rarely enjoy a red wine and even my favourite white doesn't taste right.

I read something recently about Prawns from Thailand being the product of slave labour. Perhaps that's the reason for the higher cost if nations are boycotting that product and paying more elsewhere, passing the extra cost on.

But there appears to be something of a shortage too.

Now, of course, if I see something that's only expensive rather than a bank breaker, it stays in the shop if it's from Thailand.

There's something here called popcorn shrimp - just as there is chicken popcorn. They're not expensive. I have no idea if it's available in the UK. It's just shrimps (or chicken) in breadcrumbs. Like that old staple pub meal of Scampi (in the basket).

Now I've previously cooked breaded salmon in meals with sauces and you'd never know the salmon was anything but normal salmon. Even the breadcrumbs just disappear. Probably they thicken the sauce a bit.

So I hit upon the idea of doing the same with the popcorn shrimp I found in the bottom of the freezer; I was that desperate.

They worked very well. These were already cooked, unlike the salmon, so I only added them at the end. The breadcrumb coating remained attached and there was a little but of mushiness to them.

But it was fabulous to have our prawn dinner and a large glass of rosé again.