What you need

3 bowls – one with water to clean your fingers, one for heads and shells, and one for the peeled prawns
Chopping board
Sharp knife

Step-by-step

Step 1

Remove the head by twisting it off the body.

Step 2

Remove the legs from the underside of the body, starting from where the head was. Peel them upwards, removing the upper part of the shell in the process. Repeat, working your way down the prawn’s body until you reach the tail.

Step 3

If you want to remove the tail, simply hold the tail and pinch your fingers on the last section of shell, allowing the prawn to pop out.

Deveining the prawns

Once you’ve taken off the shell and head you’ll need to remove the intestinal tract. Here’s how:

Raw prawns

You can either straighten the prawn and gently pull out the digestive tract, or use a knife to run along the back of the prawn and then use your fingers to remove it. Once done, rinse under running water.