Vietnamese Grilled Prawns with Chilli, Sour Mint and Palm Sugar

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6

20 XL King prawns
2 long red chillies, seeded
5cm piece ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp light palm sugarfinely-grated zest and juice of 2 limes1 Tbsp fish sauce
4 sprigs Vietnamese sour mint (ra-ran)
4 sprigs coriander leaves
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
4 green shallots, very finely sliced
½ bunch mint leaves
lime wedges, to serve

METHOD

1 Use a sharp knife to cut an incision into the underside of the prawns, butterflying them open. Combine the chilli, ginger, garlic, palm sugar, zest, juice, fish sauce, mint, coriander and sesame oil in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour half over the prawns and refrigerate overnight.
2 Cook the prawns over a moderate barbecue grill for 5 minutes, turning regularly, until firm. Brush with the remaining sauce, then serve with shallots, mint and lime wedges.