026 / 75 · Fish Without Fuss

Prawn and Sweetcorn Couscous

2 bowls, each with half the prawns, sweetcorn, pepper and couscous · Active 25 min · Total 40 min

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Prawns cook quickly, but raw and ready-cooked packets are not interchangeable at the stove. This recipe uses raw peeled prawns that have been thawed in the refrigerator and drained. Couscous hydrates in a covered bowl while onion and pepper soften in the pan. The prawns go in last so the vegetables do not need to catch up after the seafood is ready.

Jump to ingredients

Original hand-drawn illustration of prawn and sweetcorn couscous.

Read the packet before the pan

Raw prawns are often gray or translucent before cooking, though some species have a naturally pink shell or flesh. The package description is the starting point, not color alone. This base uses peeled edible flesh weighed after thawing and draining; shell-on purchase weight is not the same. Keep the prawns cold while chopping the vegetables, and use clean hands and equipment after handling them. Buy unseasoned prawns for this version so a premixed sauce does not introduce unlisted ingredients or change the estimate.

Hydrate, fluff, then combine

Quick couscous needs a specific water amount and a covered rest rather than a long boil. Read the packet and adjust plain water if its ratio differs. Fluff with a fork once the grains have absorbed the liquid; stirring wet couscous hard can compact it. The onion and pepper should already be tender before the prawns enter their skillet. Spread the prawns out, turn them and stop when their flesh is pearly and opaque throughout, with no glassy gray center. Stir in the drained sweetcorn early enough to become thoroughly hot, but do not leave the cooked prawns boiling while looking for a garnish. Lemon and the measured parsley are already the finish. Divide the seafood and grains deliberately so one bowl does not receive most of the prawns and a misleading share of the stated portion.

Ingredients

  • 10 1/2 oz raw peeled deveined prawns/shrimp, thawed and drained (300 g edible)
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon quick plain couscous (100 g dry)
  • 2/3 cup drinking water (150 ml), or the couscous packet amount
  • About 1 cup canned sweetcorn, well drained (160 g)
  • 1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, finely diced (150 g prepared)
  • 1/2 small onion, finely diced (60 g)
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g)
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice (20 ml/about 20 g)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (5 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g)
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (0.3 g)

Set out

28 cm/11-inch skillet, Heatproof couscous bowl with cover, Kettle, Fork and spatula, Sieve, Separate raw-seafood board, Knife, Kitchen scale, 2 serving bowls

Allergens

Crustacean shellfish, Wheat; check couscous and prawn packaging for additional allergens or additives. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Keep thawed raw prawns refrigerated while preparing vegetables. Put couscous in the heatproof bowl. Pour over 150 ml boiling water, or the amount its packet requires, cover and leave for the packet time, usually 5–10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
  2. Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and pepper for 7–9 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add drained corn and heat for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the drained raw prawns in one layer and cook for about 3–5 minutes, turning, until their flesh is pearly and opaque throughout with no glassy centers. Clean raw-seafood equipment and wash hands.
  4. Take off the heat and stir in lemon, parsley, salt and pepper. Fold through the couscous and divide the prawns and grain mixture evenly between 2 bowls. Serve promptly.

A useful kitchen skill

Distinguish raw from already cooked seafood on the package, then use the opaque-flesh cue for the raw prawns in this method rather than copying a reheating time.

A useful detail

The 40-minute total starts with prawns already thawed safely in the refrigerator. The estimate uses raw peeled shrimp and dry couscous. Ready-cooked prawns need a different heating sequence and their own composition record.

Another way

  • Replace 160 g drained corn with 160 g frozen peas, cooking them to the packet instructions before adding prawns; recalculate the estimate.
  • Use 150 g yellow pepper instead of red pepper, keeping the dice fine; the estimate changes slightly.

Keep it well

Refrigerate promptly in shallow containers at 40°F/4°C or below, within 2 hours or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Use within 2 days. Reheat only the needed portion to 165°F/74°C throughout, adding a small amount of drinking water to loosen the couscous if needed; prawns will firm further.