Mozambican · main
Piri-Piri Prawns
Piri-Piri Prawns reads sourness 5.6, citrus 5.4 and richness 5.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Mozambican main, about 1 hr 13 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.
The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10
- Umami & Savory — 6.0 / 10
- Sweet & Fruity — 2.5 / 10
- Sour & Bright — 7.2 / 10
- Bitter & Earthy — 1.2 / 10
- Rich & Fat — 5.6 / 10
- Aromatic & Spice — 5.0 / 10
The measured notes (of 18)
Sourness 5.6 · Citrus 5.4 · Richness 5.2 · Umami 4.9 · Marine & Briny 4.9 · Salinity 4.7 · Heat 4.3 · Allium 3.8 · Herbaceous 2.3 · Sweetness 1.9 · Fruity 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.7 · Funk & Ferment 1.4 · Nutty 1.3 · Floral 1.0 · Bitterness 1.0 · Earthy 0.9 · Smoke 0.5
What's in it (12)
- prawns — 1000 g
- piri-piri — 1000 g
- garlic — 24 g
- coarse salt — 10 g
- sweet paprika — 5 g
- sunflower oil — 115 g
- lemon juice — 60 g
- red wine vinaigrette — 45 g
- butter — 100 g
- coriander — 4 g
- bay leaf — 1 g
- dried leaf oregano — 1 g
Time & effort: about 1 hr 13 min (13 min active) · effort: medium
Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 66.1 kcal, 6.9 g protein, 3.9 g fat, 1.1 g carbs
Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.
How it's cooked (6 steps)
- Pound the chillies, garlic and coarse salt in a mortar to a wet red paste. The salt is the abrasive - it does the work.
- Blend the paste with the paprika, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, bay leaf and oregano until emulsified.
- Turn the butterflied prawns in two-thirds of the sauce and refrigerate 1 hour. Keep the remaining third back - marinade that has touched raw shellfish is not a serving sauce.
- Grill the prawns shell-side down over high coals for 4 minutes, then turn and grill 2 minutes more, until the flesh is opaque and the shells are scorched.
- Melt the butter into the reserved sauce and spoon it over the prawns as they come off the fire.
- Scatter with coriander and serve at once with bread to mop the pan.
Dishes with a similar flavor shape
- Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi — Italian-American
- Ga Kenkey with Fried Fish and Shito — Ghanaian
- Blackened Tuna Steaks with Avocado Salsa — American
- Shrimp and Poblano Tacos with Lime Crema — Mexican
- Lemon Pepper Shrimp Pasta — Italian-American
Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.
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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.