A person needs to include in his diet a variety of seafood. One of these products is shrimp, which appeared relatively recently in the post-Soviet space, but have already been caught by many.
Shrimps contain a huge amount of pure protein, which is a building material for cells and for the production of collagen, allowing for a long time to preserve the youth and beauty of the skin. At the same time, shrimp is a low-calorie and dietary product.
Properly cooked shrimp have not only useful properties, but also great taste. They are used in hot dishes, for the preparation of sea salads and snacks, but they can be a separate independent dish that goes well with any alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
How to choose the right shrimp in the store
Shrimp in supermarkets are usually sold frozen, but different varieties. Most often it is a ready-made semi-finished product, ready for use immediately after defrosting, as the shrimps were boiled before being frozen in the stocking factory.
Choose high-quality shrimp by the following simple features:
- Shrimps of European origin usually undergo a rigorous selection of quality, so preference should be given to them rather than to products of Asian origin.
- The most useful product is considered to be shrimp, frozen fresh and not boiled. Such a product is usually dark brown in color and has excellent taste and nutritional qualities.
- Shrimps purchased in a weight, rather than in a vacuum bag, must be cooked to avoid intestinal upset.
- A qualitatively frozen cooked semi-finished product should have a delicate pink color. The tail must be slightly bent - the tail is bent only in animals that died before fishing.
- The purchase of shrimp with dried shell and yellowish meat should be abandoned. Black specks on paws and armor indicate that the product is old.
- We get rid of black-headed shrimps - these are sick individuals. Green heads say that shrimps ate plankton - these must be taken, as they are not only healthy, but also very tasty. Shrimps with brown heads should be especially happy - these are pregnant individuals, their meat is considered a delicacy.
How to cook shrimp correctly
Shrimp as a separate dish is usually prepared with various spices, seasonings and sauces - such as lemon juice, soy sauce or garlic. But it is very important not to overdo it - the additives should only emphasize the taste of the natural product a little, and not kill it.
Shrimp can be cooked in several ways:
1st method
The first method is only suitable for the cooked-frozen product and consists of simple defrosting without further heat treatment. To do this, the product is placed in a colander and doused with boiling water. The shrimp will quickly thaw, the water will wash away all the dirt from them. You can simply leave the shrimp at room temperature and wait for them to thaw naturally. After that, the product is ready for use.
But this method has a drawback - since the shrimps are frozen without salt and spices, the finished product will turn out a little bland. Shrimp thawed in this way can be used for further roasting in vegetable oil with garlic or used for salad. They can also be baked or grilled with spices.
2nd method
The second way is absolutely suitable for all types of shrimp - frozen and chilled.
- The product leans back in a colander and doused with cold running water - in a few seconds the ice crust will melt and wash the sticking dirt from the shrimps.
- We put water on the stove (water should be three times more than shrimps), boil, add salt and spices - juice of one lemon, salt, bay leaf and peppercorns.
- Dip shrimps in boiling water and cook for 3-10 minutes - depending on the type.
- After 3-10 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the shrimps in the broth for another 10 minutes to make them more juicy.
- Again we throw away the boiled product in a colander, let it cool and enjoy fragrant boiled shrimps.
Boiled frozen shrimps are cooked for about 3 minutes, fresh-frozen - 7-10 minutes. Cooking time for large king and tiger prawns is increased by 5-10 minutes. If the shrimp surfaced and their shell became slightly transparent - the product is ready. It is important not to digest the shrimp - the digested meat becomes tough and tasteless.
Ready-made shrimps can be seasoned with olive oil and juice of half a lemon, or served with curry or adjika.
3rd method
Shrimps can be cooked not only on the stove, but also in the microwave - they will turn out boiled in their own juice. Shrimps are placed in a container with a small amount of water, salted, pepper and put in the oven for one minute.
Steamer is also great for cooking shrimp. Just 4-5 minutes is enough, and the finished dish will be very tender. Steamer allows you to save maximum useful properties.
If the house has a multicooker, you can use it. Frozen shrimps are placed in a slow cooker, salted, sprinkled with lemon juice or lemon slices placed on top of the meat, and the “baking” mode is activated for 10-15 minutes. It is not necessary to add water.
4th method
Shrimp can be stewed in sauce. This method is equally good for boiled and uncooked convenience foods.
The cooking process will be as follows:
- Pour a small amount of vegetable or olive oil on the bottom of a high frying pan or pan.
- Add a few cloves of garlic and a half onion.
- Put half a pound of frozen shrimp in the butter and pour half a glass of water.
- Bring the shrimp to a boil under the lid closed and boil for 3-5 minutes.
Helpful Tips
Here are some simple tips that may come in handy when cooking shrimp:
- if shrimps need to be pre-cleaned, they should be immersed in cold water for a few seconds immediately after cooking; it will be much easier to clean;
- if the shrimps need to be cleaned before cooking, then it should be done until the shrimps are not completely defrosted;
- large intestines necessarily remove the large intestinal vein - it can spoil the taste of the finished dish;
- shells of peeled shrimps are not thrown away - they can be useful for fish soup, soup with shrimps or sauce;
- shrimp boiled in shell - tastier.
