Lime and lemongrass skewered prawns. (Photo: Tony Jackman) 
Ingredients
24 prawns, heads removed, the tails cleaned, deveined and butterflied
250 g desiccated coconut
Cold water
Basmati rice
2 sticks lemongrass
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
A grinding of black pepper
Method
Soak 6 bamboo skewers in cold water for half an hour.
Clean the prawns, dehead them, remove the veins, rinse, dry and keep aside.
Pour desiccated coconut into a bowl and pour in cold water to more than cover the coconut. Cover with cling film and leave to steep for 2 or 3 hours. Strain and keep the coconut water to cook the rice in.
Boil the basmati rice in the coconut water, reducing to a simmer, covered, and cooking until all the coconut water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy.
Bash the lemongrass stalks with a heavy object, remove the hard outer layers, and chop the white inner part finely.
Marinate the prawns in a bowl with the lemongrass, lime juice, garlic, chilli, fish sauce, salt and pepper, for an hour or more.
Skewer 4 of the marinated prawns onto each of 6 skewers.
Cook the skewered prawns over hot coals for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Serve with a green diced salad of cucumber, green pepper, spring onions and chilli, dressed with a vinaigrette of 1 Tbsp each of brown rice vinegar, fish sauce, ponzu, and a splash of chilli oil. DM/TGIFood
Our Thank God It’s Food newsletter is sent to subscribers every Friday at 6pm, and published on the TGIFood platform on Daily Maverick. It’s all about great reads on the themes of food and life. Subscribe here.
Send your recipes to tony@dailymaverick.co.za with a hi-resolution horizontal (landscape) photo.
To enquire about Tony Jackman’s book, foodSTUFF (Human & Rousseau) please email him at tony@dailymaverick.co.za