Medium Prawns

About Medium Prawns

Medium Prawns are the everyday workhorse of home prawn cooking. They are penaeid prawns graded to a medium size: big enough to give you a proper, juicy bite in a karahi, small enough that every spoonful of pulao or fried rice gets a few pieces. If you cook prawns once a week for the family rather than once a year for guests, this is usually the size that makes the most sense. Browse the full Prawns & Shrimp range to compare grades, or step up to Large Prawns when you want a dish where each prawn is the star.

Taste & Texture

Medium prawns have a clean, mildly sweet sea flavour and a tender, springy bite when cooked correctly. Because they are smaller, they take on masala quickly, so a short marinade of ginger-garlic paste, haldi, red chilli and salt is enough. Their size also means they cook fast: they go from grey-translucent to pink and opaque in a few minutes, and turn rubbery if left on high heat for too long.

Cutting & Cleaning Options

• Whole (shell-on) – heads and shells intact. Best if you want to make a quick prawn stock from the heads and shells for pulao yakhni or soup.
• Headless (shell-on) – heads removed, shells left on. The shell protects the meat in the freezer and you peel just before cooking.
• Peeled and Deveined – fully cleaned and ready for the pan. The most convenient choice for weeknight karahi, fried rice and pakoras, where you need lots of small prawns cleaned at once.

Best Ways to Cook

This grade shines in dishes where prawns are mixed through other ingredients rather than served one by one. Think prawn karahi with tomatoes and green chillies, jhinga pulao or prawn biryani, Chinese-style prawn fried rice, crispy prawn pakoras for Ramzan iftar or rainy evenings, and light prawn and vegetable soups. For grilling and BBQ skewers, the bigger Jumbo Prawns hold up better over open flame.

Storage & Handling

Keep prawns chilled at 0–4 °C and cook within 1–2 days, or freeze at -18 °C. Divide them into meal-sized bags before freezing so you only thaw what you need. Thaw overnight in the fridge, never on the kitchen counter, and do not refreeze prawns once they have been thawed raw. Use a separate board and knife for raw seafood, and wash hands and surfaces afterwards. For today's stock and available cuts, check this product page or contact FishMart.

Refrigerate at 0–4 °C and cook within 1–2 days, or freeze at -18 °C in meal-sized portions. Thaw in the fridge overnight, never on the counter, and do not refreeze thawed raw prawns.

Rinse briefly in cold water, pat dry and keep on ice while you work. Use a separate board for raw seafood; prawns should smell of the sea, never of ammonia.

How Much to Order

As a rough guide, about 1 kg of peeled and deveined medium prawns is a comfortable quantity for a prawn karahi or pulao for a family of 4–5. If you buy whole prawns, order more, because heads and shells make up a large part of the weight. Ask FishMart if you are unsure which cut suits your recipe.

Cooking Tips

• Add medium prawns near the end of a karahi or salan – they need only a few minutes once the masala is ready.
• For pulao or biryani, sear the prawns briefly first and fold them in at the dum stage so they stay juicy.
• Pat prawns completely dry before frying pakoras so the besan batter clings and stays crisp.
• Boil the heads and shells from whole prawns with onion and whole spices for a quick yakhni for pulao or soup.
• Stop cooking as soon as prawns turn opaque and curl into a loose 'C'; a tight 'O' usually means overcooked.

Nutrition

Prawns are a good source of protein and are naturally low in fat. People with shellfish allergies should avoid prawns.