King Prawn Salad with Chives and Red Onion

This king prawn salad has meaty prawns, chives and red onion and is covered in mayonnaise. The dish is so simple and quick to whip up and makes an awesome side for barbecues, or is great between two thick slices of bread.

What’s the difference between prawns and shrimp?

Do you know that I had to Google the difference between prawns and shrimp? And I’ve got to be honest and say that I wasn’t a great deal wiser after seeking information. My research did confirm what I already suspected: prawn is the generic term Brits and Aussies use for anything remotely prawn-like. The cool thing is that the complete opposite occurs across the Atlantic, where most people refer to the meaty crustaceans we all love as shrimp. However, we also use the term shrimp in the UK, but then, we are referring to the tiny little prawns often found in salads. Are you still with me?

So, what’s a king prawn then? Well, not sure, but that’s what it says on the packet. Seriously though, king prawns, as their name suggests, seem to be, well, larger prawns. The meaty prawns. I use them in curries because they are a great substitute for chicken.

Seeing as meaty is the only way I can think of to describe a king prawn, it’s safe to say I am not an expert. If you would like to know more about the subject, Heathline have got a super informative article with everything you need to know: Prawns vs shrimp: What’s the difference?

What’s a king prawn salad?

This, on first read, seems to be a somewhat silly question. King prawns + salad = king prawn salad. To us Brits, a prawn salad is definitely a bed of lettuce (with other ingredients) topped with prawns. Not to be confused with a prawn cocktail, though, which is prawns slathered in Rose Marie sauce (the same dressing I used for my feta salad).

Shrimp salad is something different. I was once amused to hear my egg and mayonnaise sandwich referred to as an egg salad sandwich. There was not a touch of the green stuff in sight. This was my first realization that anything with mayonnaise is called a salad in the US. Tuna, chicken, you name it. This time, we’ve got shrimp salad. Or, also known as king prawn salad. I think you get the gist. So, because there is no lettuce but plenty of mayo, this is not a salad in the UK sense. It’s a salad in the US sense.

What can you serve with king prawn salad?

This recipe is so simple. There’s nothing more complicated than chopping up some prawns, then adding some red onions and chives. Not forgetting the mayonnaise, of course. Because without it, it can’t possibly be called a salad.

I made mine to accompany a Swedish midsummer lunch. No, nothing to do with that scary film. Midsummer is celebrated in June and is one of Sweden’s favourite holidays (if not the favourite). We also had the usual hard boiled eggs, smoked salmon, homemade Swedish rye seeded bread, and boiled new potatoes. It was perfect. We usually finish off eating something sweet and light, like a cream cake with berries, or meringue.

However, Swedish traditions aside, this king prawn salad would be great in a jacket (baked) potato or stuffed between two pieces of crusty bread as a sandwich filling. If you are throwing something on the barbie, this salad would be awesome squidged up against a chunk of meat or as a side for burgers. You could even eat it on its own. With a spoon.

Easy side dish recipes

Talking of sides, I love salads and dips to go with a main meal. I no longer eat meat, so I am usually on the look out for something to go with salmon or other fish. Here are some of my favourite side dishes:

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