Shrimp Po’ Boys (prawns)

Shrimp Po’ Boys!! Crispy cajun seasoned fried shrimp (prawns) stuffed into rolls with crunchy lettuce, tomato, pickles and a generous slather of tangy remoulade sauce. This famous Louisiana classic is one heck of a sandwich!

PS Shrimp = prawns for us Aussies, but I’m sticking with the American name here because calling it a Prawn Po’ Boys just feels wrong! 🙂

Shrimp Po’ Boys (prawns)

I really want to tell you that Po’ Boys are the first thing I hunted down when I touched down in New Orleans, but fried chicken won out purely because it was closer to my hotel and impatience got the better of me!

But Po’ Boys came shortly thereafter, and boy oh boy, New Orleans sets the bar high for memorable sandwiches. I will never forget the first bite I had of the crusty bread stuffed to bursting with the crispy fried shrimp, crunchy lettuce and tangy sauce. Messy, generous and SO good!

Po’ Boys are having a bit of a moment here in Sydney and after recently paying a ridiculous amount for a disappointing one (soggy shrimp, overcooked, bland seasoning) I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands and make my own. Yes the crispy shrimp has to be fried but it’s actually a lot less hassle than most fried foods – they get batch coated (rather than one by one), and they’re shallow fried rather than deep fried, it doesn’t splatter or spit.

I think it’s pretty darn close to the real thing – I’d love to know what New Orleans locals think! Have I done your famous Po’ Boys justice??

What are Po’ Boys?

I’m glad you asked! Po’ Boys are New Orleans’ famous overstuffed sandwiches made with crusty French bread and fillings ranging from slow cooked beef to crispy fried oysters and fish. Shrimp (prawns) is one of the most popular versions. The name is short for “poor boy”, said to date back to 1929 when two New Orleans brothers served sandwiches to streetcar workers, calling them “poor boys”. The name stuck, and so did the sandwiches.

Ironically, here in Sydney, there is nothing “poor” about the price tag of Po’ Boys – $30 up!!! You can make this entire recipe for 4 people for that amount.

Ingredients in Shrimp Po’ Boys

Here’s what you need to make Shrimp Po’ Boys. You’ll find everything at regular grocery stores, or there’s easy substitutions that won’t compromise the end result.

1. For the crispy cajun seasoned shrimp

The shrimp (prawns) are coated in a flour coating that is boldly spiced with cajun flavours. It makes the shrimp so tasty, they’re hard to resist snacking on!

• Shrimp / prawns – Use frozen for convenience, thaw thoroughly and pat dry before use. We need medium ones so they are not too big to stuff into the sandwich, though prawns in bags labelled “large” are also fine. I wouldn’t use small because they cook through way too quickly, before the outside has time to get crunchy. Also, it’s just a pain handling a gazillion little prawns!

• Fine cornmeal – Traditionally used for the shrimp coating, this is dried ground corn which gives the shrimp extra crunchy little gritty bits. Honestly though, you can’t taste it so just substitute with cornflour/cornstarch, I couldn’t even tell the difference. If you really want to be authentic, make sure to use fine ground cornmeal, not coarse (works, but more visible). I found mine at Harris Farms (Sydney).

• Flour – Just plain flour / all-purpose flour.

• Cajun spices – Pantry spices! How good is that! The cayenne gives the shrimp the faintest warmth, feel free to omit it if you prefer.

• Egg – This is to make the coating stick on the prawns.

2. for the remoulade sauce

The sauce for Po’ Boys is typically mayonnaise or a tangy remoulade, a Louisiana-style sauce made with mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and spices that goes especially well with crispy fried seafood. I’m going with the latter – it really is tasty!

• Mustard – Remoulade is traditionally made with Creole mustard, which is tangy, grainy and has a little spicy kick. Since it’s hard to find here in Sydney, I use Dijon OR yellow mustard mixed with wholegrain mustard instead. I’ve made this with both and honestly can’t pick a favourite! I like the warmer yellow colour you get from regular yellow mustard, but Dijon has a slightly more sophisticated flavour. Either works beautifully, especially with all the other flavours going on in the sauce!

• Mayonnaise – Use whole egg mayonnaise or kewpie, which have a smoother flavour than regular mayonnaise which tend to be too sweet and/or too vinegary.

• Horseradish cream – Adds a little sharp, peppery bite that gives the remoulade an extra kick without making it chilli-hot. Use prepared horseradish cream, not fresh horseradish, which is much stronger.

• Pickle juice – Literally, from the jar of pickles for the pickles we use in the sandwich.

• Hot sauce – Tabasco, or any other hot sauce you want. You can omit it, if you want to make this not spicy.

• Garlic – Finely grated or crushed using a garlic press.

• Paprika – Just sweet / regular paprika. Not smoky and not hot.

3. for the sandwich

You can either use rolls, or cut a long French stick into 22cm/9″ lengths.

• Bread rolls – Use any white bread roll you want. We will be lightly toasting them to make the crust lightly crispy – not too crisp.

• Tomatoes and lettuce – The vegetables that are typical in Shrimp Po’ Boys. Use iceberg or cos/romaine lettuce.

• Pickles – finely sliced. I do it on the diagonal to make the slices larger.

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How to make Shrimp Po’ Boys

Here’s how to make it. We do need to fry, but it’s not deep frying, it’s just shallow fried. Less oil, less mess!

1. Remoulade – Mix the ingredients in a bowl and set aside while you make everything else.

2. Warm rolls – Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan forced). Warp the rolls in foil (2 in each parcel), put them on a tray then turn the oven off. This will warm the rolls through and keep them warm without over-toasting while you cook the shrimp.

3. Whisk the egg in a bowl and put all the shrimp in, then mix to coat in the egg.

4. Cajun coating – Mix all the Cajun coating ingredients in a separate medium size bowl. Then lay some of the egg coated shrimp onto the flour mixture in one layer (however many you can).

5. Coat – Toss the bowl to coat the shrimp in the flour mixture. Or use a spoon.

6. Shake off excess – Grab a handful of shrimp and lightly enclose your fist around them to adhere the coating on well. Then shake around in your hand, using your fingers as a colander, to shake off excess flour.

7. Coat all shrimp – Place them on a plate, repeat with remaining shrimp. Coat them all in the flour and lay on the plate.

8. Fry 2 – 3 minutes – Heat 2 cm / 0.8″ oil in a heavy based skillet or pot to 180C/350F (if you drop a pinch of flour in, it should sizzle straight away). Then cook the shrimp in batches for 2 – 3 minutes until deep golden. There is no need to turn the shrimp, just place them in and leave them there for the full cook time. Don’t cook too long, we don’t want to overcook the shrimp! For medium / large shrimp, 2 minutes should be long enough, up to 3 minutes to get enough colour on the coating and make it crispy.

9. Drain – Scoop the prawns out with a slotted spoon or spider onto a tray lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Repeat and cook remaining shrimp.

Assembling the Po’ Boys

1. Split the rolls in half and spread with butter. Then spread the base with 1 tablespoon of remoulade.

2. Stuff as follows – Layer of sliced pickles, then tomato, shredded lettuce, pile on shrimp/prawns (as much as you can!), drizzle the shrimp with remoulade sauce. Close lid and devour!

I could eat a Po’ Boy anytime, but it seems especially fitting for weekends and parties. I like that you can coat all the shrimp / prawns in the Cajun seasoned flour and have it ready to fry, then it fries up in just 5 minutes. In the world of crispy fried things, these Po’ Boys are way down on the less-mess-less-effort-less-stress end compared to, say, handling large pieces of bone in chicken or the recipes where I really insist on double frying and things that need to be battered one-by-one just before dropping into the hot oil.

Frying makes anything tasty, but it does require commitment. So it’s nice to be sharing one that isn’t such a big deal. And you end up with one heck of a sandwich! – Nagi x

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Watch how to make it

Life of Jaffle

Jaffle’s first bushwalk!

A whole new playground for Mr Jaffle, he was in a tizzy of excitement, sniffing every single leaf, investigating every fallen log, jumping onto rocks for no apparent reason!

Occasionally he’d run ahead and disappear out of sight, but before I could call for him he’d come bolting back, and I swear I could almost hear him thinking “hurry up, hurry up!”

No bushwalking as we head into summer though. Too many snakes. Jaffle cannot be trusted! He thinks everything was put on this earth to be his personal toy.