Australia Day is a real tradition amongst our friends. With the Christmas hustle and bustle mainly being amongst the family realm, it's our excuse to reconnect and spend a bit of time with one another enjoying good food, wine and Australian music. Usually we rotate amongst each others homes each year but this year we had decided an adventure was in store! The plan was to loadup the 4WD's and take a picnic BBQ up to Double Island Point for a day of soaking up the sun and lazing in the lagoon like waters of the Rainbow Bay side. Unfortunately the weather gods haven't been very kind to any of us and have a soggy celebration in store for tomorrow! I had had plans of recreating this gorgeous BBQ recipe I found in this month's Gourmet Traveller Magazine which I've been dying to try. Unfortunately these will now go on the backburner for another outdoor social event in the near future, but in the mean time I thought I'd share them with you anyway - they scream sunshine to me on this dreary day anyway! YUM!

Soy Glazed Prawn Skeweres

Serves 4
Cooking Time Prep time 45 mins, cook 8 mins (plus pickling, marinating, chilling)

90 ml	soy sauce
30 gm	honey
30 ml	mirin
1 tbsp	finely grated ginger
1	garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp	sesame oil
36	medium uncooked prawns, cleaned, tails intact
270 gm	dried soba noodles
12	spring onions, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths
9	shiitake mushrooms, halved
For brushing:	vegetable oil
To serve:	toasted sesame seeds
Cabbage and daikon salad
30 ml	mirin
20 gm	caster sugar
100 ml	rice wine vinegar
100 gm	daikon (about 1/3), cut into julienne
350 gm	Chinese cabbage (about ¼), thinly shaved on a mandolin
2	spring onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp	sesame oil
To serve:	toasted sesame seeds

1	For cabbage and daikon salad, stir mirin, sugar, ginger and 80ml vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Add daikon, transfer to a non-reactive container and refrigerate to pickle (25-30 minutes). Just before serving, drain daikon (reserve 2 tbsp liquid), combine daikon and reserved liquid in a bowl with remaining ingredients, toss lightly to combine, scatter with sesame seeds and refrigerate until required.
2	Stir soy sauce, honey, mirin, ginger, garlic and half the sesame oil in a small saucepan over low heat to combine. Transfer to a non-reactive container, cool slightly, add prawns and refrigerate to marinate (20 minutes). Meanwhile, soak bamboo skewers in cold water.
3	Meanwhile, cook noodles in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, drain, rinse under cold running water, drain, toss in a bowl with remaining sesame oil and refrigerate to chill.
4	Preheat a barbecue or char-grill pan to high heat. Drain prawns (reserve marinade) and thread onto bamboo skewers, alternating with spring onion and mushroom. Brush lightly with oil, then barbecue, turning occasionally and basting with remaining marinade, until just cooked through (2-3 minutes). Scatter with sesame seeds and serve with cabbage and daikon salad and chilled soba.

This recipe is from the January 2012 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.