Prawns

Prawns are one of the most versatile and widely available seafoods worldwide. There are several different prawn species commonly sold in Australia. Tiger prawns, the most common aquaculture prawn, have distinct grey, blue or black stripes. King prawns have a cream to light brown body and distinctive blue tailfin. They are generally sold larger than tiger prawns (though the name ‘king’ does not refer to their size); the legs are bright blue in western king prawns and cream in eastern king prawns. Redspot prawns are a type of king prawn, though often smaller, with a distinctive red spot on each side of their body shell. Banana prawns, caught off northern Australia, are translucent to yellow with tiny dark spots; they are also farmed. School prawns and bay prawns have translucent brown to green bodies with dark brown speckling and green tips on the tail fan; they’re often sold small enough to eat shell and all. There is often confusion between the words prawn and shrimp. In the United States, shrimp is the common term, even for large specimens, while in Britain, shrimp is used for smaller specimens and prawn refers to the larger ones. In Australia, prawn is used for all sizes.