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Fish
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Shrimp are loved by almost everybody. It is always elegant to serve them in any form; grilled, fried, just steamed, or with a sauce. They also add a delicious flavor to any dish; salad, soup, rice, and pasta. Shrimp have a reputation of being confusing and difficult to prepare. On the contrary, if you are familiar with how to buy and cook it, it is quite simple and doesn't take a lot of time.
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Buying shrimp
There are many kinds of shrimp usually named according to their size; small, medium, large, jumbo. These sizes are not standard. The best way to differentiate between them is the number of units per kg. For example one kg of jumbo shrimp will contain 8-10 units of shrimp. Also the size determines the best way to use those shrimp. The table below shows the different kinds of shrimp, the number of each kind present in one kg and the best cooking method suitable for that kind. Shrimp must be fresh; they'd better be eaten on the same day of buying. Fresh shrimp have transparent shells.
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| Kind of shrimp |
Number of units per 1 kg |
Best cooking method |
| Extra small |
60 or more |
Pies, salads, stuffing, pureed |
| Small |
30 - 40 |
Soups, pasta, rice, appetizers |
| Medium |
16 - 20 |
Soups, pasta, rice, appetizers, frying |
| Large |
11 - 15 |
Frying and grilling |
| Jumbo |
8 - 10 |
Grilling, roasting |
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Washing shrimp
In case of shelled shrimp, soak in a large bowl with cold water for 15 minutes to allow sand to precipitate at the bottom of the bowl. Lift shrimp out of the bowl with a your fingers leaving the sand behind. Rinse again under cold running water and drain well. In case of peeled shrimp, spread about ½ cup flour (for 1 Kg of shrimp) over shrimp and rub with your fingers. Then rinse well under cold running water and drain well. Note: You should devein peeled shrimp before washing and in case of shelled shrimp, devein after washing them rinse again under running water and drain well. |
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Peeling shrimp
Shrimp that are cooked with their shells are more flavorful, juicier and not likely to be overcooked. If you love the taste and flavor of seafood in general, you'll appreciate the shelled shrimp. But peeled shrimp are also required for certain recipes like soups, salads, pasta, rice and for frying. You can peel shrimp before or after cooking or steaming it, it depends on the recipe.
To peel shrimp, cooked or raw, start by pulling off the head. Then split the shell with your fingers from the top side, and pull it towards the legs to remove the whole shell. Pull off the tail. Some recipes require keeping the tail attached. It makes shrimp more presentable at serving and also helps people to pick up the shrimp with it. Don't throw the shells; whether cooked or raw, you can use them in making shrimp stock. |
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Deveining shrimp
It is important to remove the dark vein along the back of the shrimp, particularly for large and jumbo shrimp. This is the shrimp's digestive track and usually contains sand. The process of removing this vein is called "deveining".
To devein a peeled shrimp, make a shallow cut with the tip of a knife along the back of the shrimp. |
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| Take out the vein from between the flesh of shrimp with the tip of a knife or pull it out with your fingers. |
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| In case of shelled shrimp, cut the shell and a little part of the flesh to remove the vein with the tip of the knife. You have to devein shrimp before washing. |
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Preparing (steaming) shrimp
Shrimp are prepared in that way before frying, or adding to a lot of recipes. It is sort of a substitution for boiling. It has to be done only when shrimp are shelled and after washing them. Cut an onion into 4 quarters and smash 3-4 garlic cloves so that they are slightly mashed. Don't crush or cut them with a knife. Put them in a medium deep pan, add shrimp (about 1 kg), 1 branch celery, 1 sliced lemon, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper. Put pan over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes just until shrimp turn pink shaking the pan occasionally. You can then peel shrimp and devein them. Don't throw the shells, you can use them in making shrimp stock. |
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Making shrimp stock
This is not to be eaten directly but is used to add the shrimp flavor to various kinds of dishes. Here we don't use the shrimp, we only use the shells. In a medium-large deep pan, put about 2 cups water, 1 chopped onion, 2 tbsp oil, 3-4 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 branch celery, 2 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp cumin, and 1 tsp black peppercorns. Bring pan to boil over medium-high heat, then add shrimp shells (1-2 kg shrimp). Reduce heat, cover and leave to simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain and reserve the liquid in the pan. If you are going to steam shrimp and then peel them, return the shells to the steaming pan, add water and the other ingredients and follow the same process. You can use this stock to make sauces for shrimp or when you cook shrimp with pasta or rice to enrich the flavor. You can also freeze it to use it later. |
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