- 12 large prawns, in the shell
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- 2-3 large carrots cut into 24 very thin batons, each 1cm/¼in longer than the prawns
- 700ml/1¼ pint buttermilk
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
- 175g/6oz plain flour
- 50g/2oz polenta
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 2-3 tsp sea salt
- pinch black pepper
- 85ml/3fl oz mayonnaise
- 2 tsp hot chilli sauce, or to taste
- Remove the shells from the prawns, leaving the tail intact. Make an incision with a sharp knife down the back of each prawn. Rinse out the vein from the prawn. With a sharp skewer, make a hole through the centre of the prawn, from top to tail.
- Sprinkle the prawns with the garlic salt.
- Thread two carrot batons through the hole you have made in the back of the prawns. (The carrot strips should be poking out of the top end of the prawns.)
- Place the prawns and the buttermilk into a bowl and leave to soak for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Heat the oil in a deep heavy-based pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
- Meanwhile, sieve the flour, polenta, chilli powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper onto a large plate.
- Remove a prawn from the buttermilk (make sure there's lots of buttermilk on it).
- Dredge the prawn in the spiced flour and polenta mixture to coat. Don't shake off the excess.
- Repeat with five more prawns, then place the coated prawns carefully into the hot oil. Deep-fry for about 2-4 minutes, turning the prawns occasionally to keep them moving, until crisp and golden-brown all over, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain onto kitchen paper.
- Repeat this process of dredging and deep-frying the remaining six prawns. (The tail of the shrimp should be protruding from one end and the carrot from the other – to resemble a firecracker.)
- For the dipping sauce, mix the mayonnaise and hot chilli sauce together in a bowl.
- To serve, place the bowl of dipping sauce into the centre of a large serving plate. Arrange the 'firecracker' prawns around the bowl and serve.