MasterChef Junior Appetizers: Grilled Prawns + Prawns with an Asian Twist
Grilled Prawns with Saffron Aioli + Olive-Caper Relish
What’s better than shrimp? Shrimp two ways of course. I love that these two MasterChef Junior appetizers were both so different even though they used the same ingredients. They originally called for Santa Barbara spot prawns, but I called every seafood place in the DFW area and no one carried them. Finally, after talking to countless store managers, one guy told me I would not find them anywhere here and recommended I get some quality large shrimp instead. So that’s what I did.
These recipes are both from winners of MasterChef Junior, Logan (season 2) and Addison (season4), and they both chose these recipes as appetizers in their finales. They were both amazing, so I’m not surprised this helped them win their seasons.
The grilled shrimp dish, created by Logan from Season 1 of MCJ, was my favorite out of the two. The little side salad he included with grilled romaine and homemade croutons was the perfect addition. It inspired me to make a grilled romaine chicken caesar salad a few days after making it. I used this homemade caesar dressing recipe, and I highly recommend it.
Spot Prawns with Seaweed Salad
Addison’s dish had more of an Asian twist to it. The shrimp was marinated in ginger, sesame oil, scallions, yuzu (an Asian citrus) juice, and a few other ingredients that are all staples in Asian cuisine. She also paired the shrimp with seaweed salad (often found in poke bowls and some sushi platters) and togarashi rice, which is flavored with a Japanese spice blend.
Since I grew up in Hawaii, I am very fond of Asian cuisine – especially Japanese. Therefore, I was really excited to work with all of these ingredients, and will be using the leftovers in some of my own creations soon.
The next few recipes I’ll be working through will all be appetizers, so make sure you hit the subscribe button at the bottom of the page to see the rest. If you missed some I’ve already done, here’s a list of a few of my favorites:
Duo of Ahi Tuna
Glazed Lollipop Wings
Apple Fries
All my love,
Dani, a big tid
Grilled Prawns with Saffron Aioli + Olive-Caper Relish &
Spot Prawns with Seaweed Salad
Pg. 26 + Pg. 23
Logan, Season 2 (winner!) & Addison, Season 4 (winner!)
79 + 80 down…19 to go!
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