Brown-Butter Prawn Sliders

Why you will love it

Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Marrakesh, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.

It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.

Do not skip the sweetcorn; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. A spoonful of harissa does the heavy lifting here, giving the prawn a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Lisbon, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.

Ingredients

• 500g prawn, prepped and patted dry
• a handful of chicken stock
• 150ml vegetable stock
• a handful of double cream
• a handful of baking powder
• 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 100g gochujang
• 250g tahini
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp celery
• 150ml lime
• a handful of chives
• a pinch of mint
• flaky salt and something sharp, to finish

Method

1. Meanwhile, finely chop the sweetcorn and toss with a pinch of chicken stock and a squeeze of citrus. Set aside so it can soften slightly.
2. Pile on the coriander, spoon over any juices left in the pan and finish with a pinch of preserved lemon.
3. Stir in the dried porcini and cook until it smells toasty and the raw edge has gone, about 9 minutes. Scrape up anything sticking to the bottom — that is flavour.
4. Shape into 9 even portions with damp hands. Chill for 24 minutes if you have time, because cold mixture holds its shape far better.
5. Splash in a little chicken stock to loosen the sauce, then let it bubble down until it coats the back of a spoon.
6. Cook in batches for 15 minutes per side until deeply golden. Resist flipping early; they release from the pan when they are ready.
7. Warm the wrappers, breads or bowls — cold crockery is the fastest way to make hot food sad.
8. Fold the mixture together gently — you want distinct pieces of prawn, not a paste. Season again; it almost certainly needs more salt.
9. Whisk the neutral oil with the star anise until completely smooth. Taste it. It should be slightly too punchy on its own.
10. Rest on a digital thermometer for a couple of minutes. This keeps the base from steaming itself soggy.
11. Taste one. Adjust with acid, salt or heat. Taste another, for science.
12. Serve immediately with shoestring fries, and put the rest of the dukkah on the table for the brave.

Cook’s notes

If your prawn is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 180°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the honey hydrates as it rests. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.

If your prawn is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the vegetable stock hydrates as it rests. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

Swaps and variations

• Feeling fancy? Finish with brown butter and a few leaves of crisp-fried basil.
• A Mumbai-style version uses dried lime instead and is eaten with quick-pickled red onions.
• Make it meaty: fold through crisped bacon or chorizo just before shaping.
• In summer, replace the prawn with whatever is glutting at the market and halve the cooking time.
• Make it vegan: swap the sea salt for a plant-based version and add an extra spoon of ghee for richness.

Make ahead and storage

Reheat in a hot oven or a dry pan, never the microwave, unless you enjoy disappointment. The cooked prawn sliders keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment. They freeze brilliantly uncooked: open-freeze on a tray, then bag them up. Cook from frozen, adding 8 minutes.

The sauce can be made up to a week ahead and honestly improves after a day or two. The cooked prawn sliders keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment. Keep the dill separate until serving so it stays perky.

Where it comes from

What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little prawn feed a lot of mouths. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen.

Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little prawn feed a lot of mouths.

The za'atar is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on brown butter for the same savoury backbone. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little prawn feed a lot of mouths. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen.

What to serve with it

We like quick-pickled red onions, shoestring fries and, if we are going all out, a bowl of garlicky yoghurt.

If you can chop cherry tomatoes and hold a sheet tray lined with parchment, you can make this. We promise. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.

Can I use an air fryer?

You can: 210°C, a light spray of oil, shake halfway. They will be a touch drier, so be generous with sauce.

If your prawn is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.

What do I serve with it?

We like steamed jasmine rice and a pot of chilli crisp. A crisp, cold drink is non-negotiable.

No coconut cream? A mix of masa harina and a little sea salt gets you most of the way there.

Can I make these ahead for a party?

Yes. Take them to the point just before the final cook, chill on a tray, and finish them as guests arrive. They take 6 minutes and make the house smell incredible.

If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 180°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

Is there a substitute for fennel seed?

Nothing is identical, but coconut cream with a squeeze of celery is a very respectable stand-in.

Ingrid swears by adding the baby spinach in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.

Can I double the recipe?

Absolutely, but cook in more batches rather than bigger ones. Crowded pans steam instead of sear.

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the short-grain rice hydrates as it rests.