Baked Prawns with Crab Stuffing

I remember chatting to my cousin Butchie one time, he mentioned about him winning a bet and a friend of his will be treating him out to this swanky restaurant in New York (sorry, forgot the name) and showed me the menu. One of items on the menu was baked prawns stuffed with crab meat. I was inspired to do my own version. Come lunch break, I took a quick trip to the supermarket and bought the necessary ingredients for my own version:

Baked Prawns with Crab Stuffing

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo prawns (with heads)
Crabmeat, visible shells removed and drained to remove excess liquids
Calamansi or lime juice
Grated Cheddar Cheese
4 pieces Onion and Chive flavored crackers, crushed
1/4 cup (or more) melted butter
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Rinse shrimp. Remove shell but leave the tail and heads intact. Carefully devein, and spread the "meat" to open like a fan, don't slice through. Arrange them side by side in a foil-lined baking dish. Set aside.



3. In a separate bowl, mix crabmeat, calamansi or lime juice, cheese, crackers, salt and pepper. Mix well.



4. Generously stuff the prawns with the stuffing.



5. Drizzle with melted butter and or olive oil.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of your prawns) until prawns turn pink.



This recipe is a little fussy to make, but it's easy and super yummy. You can make the stuffing and prepare the prawns ahead of time and just keep them refrigerated. Stuff right before baking.

Eat while hot. Enjoy!