Steamed prawns with coconut water

Steamed prawns or shrimps which are combined with coconut may give the wonderful dishes. There are different dishes from these seafood types added coconut served by many seafood restaurants. Coconut is popularly used in the Asia and tropical areas. It is consumed as beverage with coconut water from the young coconut fruit or the milk for sweet soups, savory dishes, cakes from the dry coconut fruit.

For seafood, coconut water especially helps to impress the sweetness from both ingredients. Beside the light aroma from the coconut fruit is also to help to decrease a little bit the typical fishy smell from the seafood. In many seafood restaurants, coconut fruit is one of the ingredients that contribute the seafood dishes as art in cuisine both flavor and decoration.

Related to nutrition, both prawns and coconut water give different benefits. It is said that prawn is very rich in protein; important vitamins such as Vitamin B-16, Vitamin B-12, niacin; and rich in minerals like iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium.

Additionally coconut water may give also the valued vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, potassium and sodium etc. Base on this value, steamed prawns with coconut water may become one of the very nutritious dishes. However the prawn is also high in cholesterol so it is advised to be used under control to balance the cholesterol in a meal.

It is considered that steamed prawns with coconut water is one of the good dishes for you to change the taste sometimes. The young coconut today is widely supplied by the groceries or market, so it is not so difficult for you to prepare the dish at home. Steamed prawns with coconut water is also easy to cook. It takes you just some minutes for all the process. And in the case you do not come to the seafood restaurants, a fresh and great dish like that completely may be done very fast at your kitchen.

Prepared and cooking time: 18-25 minutes

Serve: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 500 g of prawns
• 1 young coconut fruit
• 1 pinch of salt added when boiling coconut water
• 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of lemon juice and a pinch of ground pepper mixed together

Directions:

• Wash the prawns and let them dry
• Open the young coconut fruit for water (the opening a young coconut for your reference is in the note below)
• Boil the coconut water with the high heat. When it is boiling, add a pinch of salt and then add prawns. Gently stir the prawns for all of them. The prawns turn to red, it is time when you turn of the stove and take them out.
• Enjoy prawns with salt mixed lemon juice and ground peppercorn. The spices help to increase the prawns to be tastier.

Note for opening a young coconut fruit

For safety, be careful to open the young coconut fruit. You may open the young coconut with some steps as below:

1. Cut the soft white of coconut shell on the top.
2. Place the coconut fruit horizontally and steadily on a hard surface. Keep the bottom of coconut with your left hand and with a towel additionally if it is possible.
3. Cut the top of coconut down with a strong force by the knife on the right hand. Keep your knife from the cut and pry the cut part as a lid from the coconut shell. Slightly open that lid and pour the water out.
4. Open the lid absolutely. You may take the soft white flesh out too. This part may added to smoothies. Or you may keep the shell for decoration with prawns when serve.