#ewew cooks Air-Fried Prawns with Roasted Potatoes & Capsicum

Every household should have this incredible kitchen gadget in their kitchen...an air fryer!  Before I got my air fryer, I relied on my convection oven to grill or roast meat, potatoes and vegetables.  Since getting an air fryer, my convection oven has been officially "retired".

I now use my air fryer a lot, mostly in making western-style meals like roasted chicken, potatoes and vegetables...and I'm loving it! ;)  But I've never used it to roast/grill seafood of any type, whether fish or prawns.  Then again, I've also never used my convection oven to cook seafood before (other than making baked salmon wrapped in parchment paper or foil).  

So, this is my first attempt at cooking prawns in an air fryer.  I didn't google for any information or recipes since I reckon prawns will cook pretty fast in the air fryer and I wanted to keep it simple.  First, I prepped my prawns by making a slit down the back and removing the vein.  I let the prawns drain on some wet paper towels (in the fridge) and made sure I pat them down really dry when I took them out from the fridge (coz seasoning will not adhere well to wet prawns + they'll tend to steam rather than fry in the air fryer if they're wet).  These prawns cost me about RM45 for 20 prawns (and I used half of it here).

Next, I drizzled some olive oil over the prawns and marinated them with just lots of freshly cracked black pepper and plenty of my all-purpose Montreal chicken seasoning (you don't really need any salt, you can use any spices you want like chilli, curry, turmeric, paprika, etc.).  I made sure I opened up the prawns so that the seasoning can get into into all the nooks, cracks and crevices in the prawn (especially in the slits).

Then put your prawns in a single layer in an oven-proof dish (or paper liner) that fits your air fryer...along with a few slices of garlic.  Since my air fryer is pretty small, I can only fit about 6 - 8 prawns in a single layer at one time, if more than that it'd be overlapping a bit.  Since I only need 10 prawns for myself, I might as well do a second batch, so I split them equally giving them more room to cook better.

Prawns cook pretty fast in an air fryer, so I cooked them at 200°C for about 6 - 8 minutes (and mine were fairly large prawns).  I flipped them halfway through and realised that there wasn't enough charring, so I tossed them in a bit of soya sauce to get that desired browning.

My oh my, my Air-Fried Prawns look pretty darn good, I have to say...sufficiently browned like it came out straight from a restaurant (self--praise is no the praise...lol) but without the smoky flavour, for that it has to be cooked over a flame! ^_~

I'm pretty stoked at how successful my air fried prawns turned out on my first attempt. ^o^  They're so easy to cook and cooks super fast too.  If you like your prawns more charred, I guess you'll have to use more of the browning agents like light/dark soy or oyster sauce.

I made some roasted potatoes and red capsicum to go with the prawns as just 10 of it is not going to make me full, so I need some carbs on the plate in the form of roasted potatoes, my favourite, crisp on the edges and fluffy inside.  While I'm at it, might as well throw in some vegetables like red capsicum, broccoli, french beans or brussel sprouts.

I love seafood, especially prawns, so it was worth it to experiment and try to make it at home coz it's even costlier to eat prawns at restaurants.  You won't realise just how easy it is to cook them until you try it yourself...and I'm glad I did.

Now that my attempt at cooking prawns in the air fryer turned out better than I expected, you bet I'll be making them more often.  If you're lover of prawns (like I am), then I urge you to try this simple recipe dish at home at a fraction of the cost of what you'll need to pay at a restaurant.  You'll find that it's so fast to make but absolutely delicious as a healthy meal! ^.^