Micah said she ' s often explaining the differences between shrimp and prawn to their customers.
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 30
M A R K E T S
THE CRUSTACEAN STATION
Market vendor farms fresh prawns
If you hit Stillwater’ s Farmers’ Market on a Saturday or a Wednesday, you’ ll find something unique for Payne County – and even for Oklahoma.
You’ ll see a vendor selling prawns, a seafood delicacy that’ s something like shrimp – but not quite.
Andy and Micah Chapman own Pansies and Prawn, and they’ re the only shrimp( prawn) owner and producer in Oklahoma, licensed through the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Like other vendors at the Stillwater Farmers’ Market, they are required to grow and produce their products within Payne County or one of the surrounding counties.
Located in Guthrie, Oklahoma, they sell their prawns for $ 20 per pound at Guthrie’ s Downtown Market, the Edmond Farmers’ Market located at Tractor Supply Company, the Stillwater Farmers ' Market, and soon, the Edmonds Farmers’ Market.
Micah said she’ s often explaining the differences between shrimp and prawn to their customers.
Prawns are part of the suborder Dendrobranchiata, and from the larger family Decapoda, which includes crustaceans like lobsters, crayfish, crabs and shrimp.
Prawns are almost like a cousin to shrimp, but they have extra legs, don’ t have hunched backs and expel their eggs into the water instead of carrying them. They are also larger and live longer.
Their taste is slightly different than shrimp, but they’ re cooked exactly the same way.“ The taste is like a lobster, and a little sweeter than a shrimp,” Micah said.
She said sometimes customers can be a little skeptical of how fresh the prawns really are.
“ That’ s why we bring a prawn to the farmers’ market so people can see it’ s alive,” Micah said. At her table, customers can even hold the prawn if they want, which is often called by a different name on any given Saturday.
Micah said although fresh shrimp or prawn is sold at Sprouts or Whole Foods, it’ s not necessarily fresh. Shrimp producers from Louisiana drive up to Stillwater to sell their goods, but it’ s different than pulling the prawn directly from the tank that day.
“ They’ ve been on ice, who knows how long they’ ve been on the boat, they’ re‘ sleeping,’” Micah said.“ And so, you just don’ t know how long they’ ve been there. Ours are straight out of the tanks.”
The prawns are sold“ head on”( with the head), are not de-veined and are not processed at all, Micah said.
Prawns pair well with baked potatoes and steak, or can be used for something like shrimp scampi.
Micah and Andy Chapman, who own Pansies and Prawn, stand near the prawn tanks.
Micah said she ' s often explaining the differences between shrimp and prawn to their customers.
Another popular way to make prawns is to use them with a“ crawfish boil,” or prawn boils. A crawfish boil is a social and culinary event where sausage, corn, onions, potatoes and Cajun seasonings are combined and cooked together. At the very end, crawfish are thrown in and
Andy and Micah Chapman own Pansies and Prawn, the only licensed shrimp owner and producer in Oklahoma.
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 30