Don’t come the raw prawn with me.

Prawns, coriander, lime, garlic and a twist of black pepper. For once, I got all the ingredients into the picture.

I remember as a young fellow being slightly flexible with the truth and having my late Dad pull me up on it with “Don’t come the raw prawn with me.”  It seemed like a bizarre expression then and still seems like it now, over 40 years later. While I was thinking about an ‘angle’ for this simple barbecue recipe, the expression popped back into my head. That got me looking it up on Google. That took me to the Australian National University and their Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms. There are some cracking expressions with which the Australians have enriched our language. Read on, Cobber…

Given that the weather has been as dry as a pommie’s towel, I’m not going to give you the rough end of the pineapple here. You will need very little help with this simple, 4 ingredient dish. It is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to turn your raw prawns into a delicious feast. You can take it straight to the poolroom. The dish is Barbecued Prawns with Lime, Coriander and Garlic. The only additional ingredient you will need is a twist or two of black pepper. Some bamboo skewers will be a help too and that’s the dinkum oil.

So, rattle your dags (You just have to look that one up!) and buy prawns that are deveined but still have their shells on. This saves a load of messing around. Soak the skewers in water to stop them burning when on the barbie. Chop the garlic and coriander. Squeeze the lime into a bowl. Add the garlic, coriander and prawns. Toss them to cover and put them in the fridge for an hour or so.

I made this up because I had the ingredients. Seemed like a good reason to me.

Take them out and skewer them. I like to double up on the skewers because it makes them easier to turn on the barbie.

Tempted to eat them raw? That might be a mistake…

Two skewers per serving. Easy to turn them on the Barbie. They look cool too.

Get the barbecue hot and then turn it down to minimum.

Don’t complain about too many pictures in the post. This is the gratuitous prawn shot.

Chuck the prawns on the barbie. Enjoy a glass of plonk while they cook.

I love it when I manage to capture the smoke in the picture.

Turn them when they are nearly cooked. You will be tempted to eat them all yourself but give everybody fair suck of the sauce bottle.

It was starting to get a little dark when I took this picture. I’m sure it was bright in Oz.

I’m no wowser, but this is one excellent dish. Thank you Australia, you’re the full bottle.