It’s like Christmas time for foodies right now. Once a year and only for 8 weeks BC Spot Prawns are in season. Many of Vancouver’s restaurants are using these gems in dishes and even dedicating whole menus to the succulent West Coast crustacean. I was invited to check out the 1st catch of the season come into dock and go right into C’s kitchen to be cooked up for us and diners doing the Spot Prawn tasting menu. We all eagerly awaited the boats arrival with the prawns on-board.
What makes BC Spot Prawns so special is the face the season only runs for 8 weeks (May-June) and the fishery for them is completely sustainable so the fish stocks aren’t being affected at all. They are also ethically raised and sourced. Until 2005 most of the Spot Prawns were exported to Japan and we used to miss out since the fishery has been set up we now get our fair share of these beauty’s.
Here they come!
You can view the video of the harvest (The guy in the picture shot if for the Vancouver Sun) by clicking here.
We all were served some tasty bites while we waited for the prawns to be cooked up and brought out.
The first set of bites we were served were BC poached Spot Prawns with a yuzu jelly, Quail’s Egg topped with truffle aioli and crispy bacon and watermelon with a crispy basil garnish. All of these were really good. The eggs were perfectly cooked and of course the bacon was a perfect complement to the egg. BC Spot Prawns and yuzu jelly were a natural pairing of sweet seafood and the citrus from the yuzu.
Lastly the watermelon and crispy basil was a nice clean, refreshing bite. There was also smoked salmon bites with goats cheese that I had when I came here for Dine Out 2012.
Golden, pink and red beets topped with creme frache and thyme were also passed around the deck. Beets are one of my favorite items and I really liked these. I tend to like the red beets more because they are sweeter than the golden beets I find.
Seared tuna bites with a ponzu were cooked perfectly. The inside was beautifully rare and just seared on the outside enough to add some firm texture, the sauce was a nice touch and added a bright salty hit to the bite.
These were the star of the event.
The whole BC Spot Prawns served whole in a pool of garlic butter. Saying these are hands on are an understatement. You get in there with your hands and twist the head off and strip the tail of shell and such. The heads could be sucked like a crawfish head if you like to get the pure essence of the Spot Prawn-it’s not my thing but i made sure my head didn’t go to waste. The meat is sweet and tender and reminded me of a little lobster tail!
The event was alot of fun and I enjoyed the delicious treats and drinks. Get out there and enjoy some of there completely unique to BC treats before there all gone.
