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    Home / Appetizer / Spot Prawns

    Spot Prawns

    Spot prawns recipe: BC’s sweetest prawns, seared in garlic butter with a squeeze of lemon — a quick West Coast appetizer straight from the Pacific coast.

    ⏱ 15 minPrep time
    🔥 30 minCook time
    🍽 4Servings
    🏷 AppetizerCategory
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    Spot Prawns - BC spot prawns seared in garlic butter with lemon

    Spot prawns are the undisputed royalty of BC seafood — a large, sweet shrimp-like prawn with a distinctive white spot on its tail, harvested from the deep waters of the Pacific coast. They’re so loved in Vancouver that the city throws an annual Spot Prawn Festival each May, when the short, precious season begins and chefs race to put them on menus while they’re still alive.

    What makes them great is their flavour: clean, sweet, and briny, with a firm snap that no frozen shrimp can touch. The best way to honour a spot prawn is also the simplest — a screaming-hot pan, good butter, and garlic, so the prawn itself stays the star. Heads on, shells on, napkins out.

    West Coast / BC recipes →

    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Pat the spot prawns dry and season them lightly with salt.
    2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it sizzles.
    3. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, being careful not to brown the garlic.
    4. Add the prawns in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes per side, until they turn pink and curl slightly.
    5. Squeeze half the lemon over the prawns, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and parsley, and toss to coat.
    6. Serve immediately in a warm bowl with the remaining lemon half and crusty bread for the garlic butter.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Spot prawns cook in minutes — watch for the colour change from translucent to pink and pull them off the heat right away. If you can get them alive, keep them on ice until just before cooking for the sweetest result.

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    Recipe details

    Prep15 min
    Cook30 min
    Servings4
    CategoryAppetizer
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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