Black Tiger Prawn

Where Caught

Found
Found and caught

Map of Australia showing where Black Tiger Prawn are found and caught.

When Caught

Black tiger prawn: harvested year round from farms (rarely caught in the wild)

Brown & grooved tiger prawns: caught year round, with peak supplies from February through May. The fisheries are closed in the Northern Territory from December through March as

Important Features

Wild/Farmed: Wild and Farmed
Habitat: Saltwater
Recovery Rate: Meat (deveined): 44% of total weight, Meat (not deveined): 46% of total weight; Headless shell on: 64% of total weight

Black Tiger Prawn Research

FRDC provides a comprehensive search of the latest research papers and images on Black Tiger Prawn

Remarks

Larger tiger prawns are particularly sought after for Japanese cuisine.

Imports

South-east Asia:: various products (mostly black tiger prawn and mostly frozen) including uncooked and cooked, head on and head off, cutlets, and crumbed

Overseas Names

J: ushi ebi; USA: giant tiger prawn

Alternatives

banana prawn, bug, Endeavour prawn, king prawn, freshwater crayfish, school prawn

Grading

Grading can vary by supplier and region.

Black Tiger Prawn Penaeus monodon

Photograph by CSIRO

Nutrition Facts

per 100g of raw product

Kilojoules	399 (95 Calories)
Cholesterol	121 mg
Sodium	185 mg
Total fat (oil)	0.8 g
Saturated fat	36% of total fat
Monounsaturated fat	23% of total fat
Polyunsaturated fat	41% of total fat
Omega-3, EPA	39 mg
Omega-3, DHA	49 mg
Omega-6, AA	45 mg

Data presented are for black tiger prawn.

Cooking Ideas

Bake	Boil	Deep Fry
Grill/barbecue	Poach	Raw
Roe	Roe & Milk	Salted
Shallow Fry	Smoke	Steam/microwave

Note: Cooking Ideas identified by dark bold text are relevant to this species

Tiger prawns are large and flavoursome. Their majestic red striping makes for impressive presentation and they are often the choice of top hotels and restaurants.

Grilling, barbecuing or flambÈing tiger prawns in their shell are among the most popular cooking methods, as are pan- and deep frying. It is important to note that prawns cook quickly and that overcooking may cause the flesh to become tough. When cooking, add them to the heat as late as possible.

Tiger prawns are popular as garlic prawns. Their flavour will be enhanced by marinating in olive oil, lemon juice and lashings of garlic for one hour to tenderise and par-cook the flesh.

For a spectacular dish, flambÈ these prawns with Australian liqueur brandy and add the juice and zest of orange.

Flavour: Medium
Oiliness: Low to Medium
Moisture: Moist
Texture: Medium to Firm
Flesh Colour: Translucent when raw and white to pink with pinkish bands when cooked. Farmed prawns are more distinctly marked than wild prawns and exhibit a bright red colouration when cooked.
Price: Tiger prawns are high-priced prawns. Price depends upon grade larger tiger prawns are higher priced than smaller tiger prawns.
Edibility: Flesh and roe; Head sections are eaten in Asian dishes but for the purposes of food safety are best avoided.

Suggested Wines

A zesty and youthful sauvignon blanc is a perfect accompaniment for garlic prawns because it tames down the natural prawn oiliness and the contribution from butter or cooking oils.

Try some of the racy and understated sauvignon blancs from Margaret River, or those ever-so-elegant sauvignon blancsemillon blends from the south-west of Western Australia.

The tiger prawns with tomatoes, chilli, coriander and cornbread suggested by Philip Johnson of ecco in Brisbane are superbly matched with South Australian verdelho.

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