Ensuring straight prawns

When heated, prawns curl up. For tempura, grills or griddles where you do not wish the prawn to curl, skewer it lengthways with a cocktail stick (toothpick) before cooking and carefully remove it afterwards. If it proves difficult to remove the stick without spoiling the shape of the prawn, for instance when preparing tempura, another option is to hold the unskewered, battered prawn by the tail and lower it into the hot oil very slowly so that it heats section by section. Take care not to touch the hot oil.