What would your last meal be if you had to decide today? I know mine is a fresh prawn roll.
Nothing in this world beats a fresh prawn roll, eaten with your toes in the sand and hopefully an ice-cold beer.
A great prawn roll involves plenty of plump prawns placed between a fluffy brioche bun smothered in butter and that fancy Japanese mayo, with liberal amounts of salt, pepper and dill. Finish off with a squeeze of lemon juice, iceberg lettuce and some bonus avocado. Voila! So simple. So perfect.
It is like a piece of the actual ocean in your mouth.
Eating a prawn roll on the beach is my favourite. It truly is living.
At Christmas, many of us splurge on seafood. I would take a fresh prawn over lobster, yabbies or mudcrab. Oysters are a weakness for me but pale into insignificance when compared with a Mooloolaba king prawn.
Speaking of yabbies, did you know the scientific name for this little critter is Cherax destructor?
The name sounds more like a bad guy from a Mad Max movie rather than Australia’s most common crustacean.
The ‘destructor’ label refers to the ability of the yabby to weaken dam walls as it burrows.
But there’s way too much time invested in peeling a yabby to get a scrap of flesh.
I may be a prawn purist thanks to my genetics. My dad would have fresh prawns every Christmas Day. He taught me to peel them in the ocean and rinse them in the saltwater. He told me of Christmas Days spent on his sailboard with an esky on top as he bobbed around Mooloolaba Spit.
I used to think he was missing out as his Chrissy lunch was an esky for one, filled with prawn rolls and cold beer. Now I think it was genius. Maybe it beats ham, turkey and pudding dishes that come with inevitable family chitchat (and warfare).
When dad died, the Mooloolaba Surf Club Old Boys took his ashes out to sea in surf boats. I inherited his size 14 Crocs and his massive stand-up paddleboard. So this festive season, if you see a middle-aged woman balancing badly on a SUP with a esky on top, you will know it is me enjoying the peace and quiet of the ocean with my favourite food. Just living!
