'Prawn' is loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as “king prawns”, yet sometimes known as “jumbo shrimp”).
The giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) can grow-up to a large size (40-60 g) with high value and demand in the international market. It is native to the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, from the eastern coast of Africa (Natal to Somalia, including Madagascar), the Arabian Peninsula, South-East Asia, Taiwan, China, the Sea of Japan, New Guinea and Northern Australia (Dore and Frimodt, 1987; Perez Farfante and Kensley, 1997).
Fresh or frozen, shelled or deshelled, prawns are small, pink, juicy, moist and possibly the easiest things to cook. Although the names 'prawns' and 'shrimp' can be used interchangeably, there is a small difference between the two. In the United States, prawns are basically shrimp, but more commonly referred to as prawns elsewhere. Check out 10 best prawn recipes at NDTV.com.