How to cook shrimp properly: recipes

Today over 3.5 million tons of shrimp are harvested per year: fishing trawlers catch them far from the shore in deep waters, where the catch is immediately processed and frozen. Smaller vessels fish in coastal waters. In addition, crustaceans are successfully raised under artificial conditions, and today this has become a lucrative business for countries in South America, southeast Asia, and India and China.

What is shrimp?

Shrimp are crustaceans that zoologists classify as ten-legged. In addition to giving its name to the ten walking legs (or five pairs) attached to the thorax, shrimp have five pairs of small swimming limbs (swimmer) and three pairs of upper, called feeding appendages.

Shrimp breathe through their gills - like all crustaceans. At the same time, they have a few interesting features. So, from time to time they drop and change the shell, not all crustaceans have this ability. And the heart, reproduction organs, digestion and urinary system are located near the head.

Shrimp have mastered the waters of the planet's largest oceans - the Pacific, the Atlantic, settled in the warm seas - such as the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and others. Most of their number inhabits the water expanses along the equator, with a distance to the cooler zones, the number of shrimp decreases. Some species have even settled in fresh waters.

In the food of these crustaceans unpretentious, they eat plankton, small particles of algae, happily eat worms and larvae of various insects that happened to be in the water. And especially large individuals can even swallow fry.

Types

Adult shrimp can grow from 2 to 30 cm, its size depends on the species, there are only about 2000. They are divided into marine and freshwater, warm-water and northern. There are about a hundred varieties of crustaceans in Russian waters.

The shrimps that arrive on the shelves are divided into three groups:

1. The first is the most extensive, and it includes the northern, or Atlantic, species. It has several other names: wild, sweet, Magadan. This crustacean is not large, and its meat is slightly sweet, quite dense, firm, pale pink in color. On the price tags for these shrimp and on the packages with them write numbers that indicate the approximate number of crustaceans per 1 kg - for example, the most common combination is 90/120, ie 1 kg contains from 90 to 120 shrimp.
2. The second group is the tiger shrimp, they got their name because of the dark stripes that run along their body. These large - up to 650 g - crustaceans are found in the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Japan, but those that go on sale are most often artificially bred. It is easy to distinguish farmed shrimp: the blacker the shell and contrasting white stripes on its background, the more likely it is not from the sea. In addition, it is artificially bred shrimp are large in size - up to 35 cm, while the sea shrimp does not exceed 25 cm. Tiger shrimp meat tastes tender and juicy, not without reason they are considered a delicacy. Usually they are not sold boiled, but simply frozen: thus manufacturers retain the natural color of their shell.
3. The third group of shrimp - royal, and this is not the name of a particular species, it combines several species. They are much larger than usual, but they do not have a tiger color. They are easily recognized by their large head. The meat of king prawns tastes sweet and contains less protein than other varieties of crustaceans. And they are usually artificially raised.

What are the benefits of shrimp

The benefits of shrimp meat for the human body has long been disputed by no one, because scientists have found that the composition of this seafood is not only useful products, but also their unique combination.

In fact it is a protein product, respectively, it not only "feeds" the human body, but also forms muscles and helps the skin to stay taut and firm for longer. There are almost no carbohydrates in shrimp meat and little fat. In addition, its composition is rich in vitamins: the B-group is almost completely present, there are also A, C, E and K.

The list of "usefulness" of shrimp meat includes 12 valuable and essential amino acids, useful cholesterol and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as an impressive range of micro-and macronutrients, especially a lot of iodine, zinc, selenium, manganese, iron, cobalt, fluorine, molybdenum, calcium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Because of this balance, shrimp, if eaten regularly, can help prevent many diseases, including cardiovascular and even as serious as heart attack, stroke and hypertension.

Systematic use of shrimp eliminates problems in the thyroid gland, prevents hair loss, and thanks to selenium and astaxanthin prevents the development of tumors.

For women, this seafood is also useful because it stabilizes the hormonal background and normalizes the work of the genital organs. In addition, almost all women are always dreaming to lose weight. Shrimp is the product with which the weight loss process is not only effective but also pleasant. It is not just low-calorie, but is able to speed up metabolic processes in the body, which ultimately reduces body weight.

Pregnant women can eat shrimp, as it will only have a positive impact on the development of the fetus. And selenium and zinc in shrimp meat will serve the strong sex, because it perfectly stimulates the production of valuable hormone for men - testosterone and increase potency.

If regularly fed prawns child over three years, the complex substances contained in them will help him develop harmoniously, not only physically but also mentally.

How to choose the right shrimp

1. When choosing shrimp, you should first pay attention to the overall appearance of the packaging: it is inadmissible excess ice or snow, this indicates that the product has been thawed and frozen again, perhaps even more than once.
2. Next, you should look at the package label: it should specify the date of production, shelf life and storage conditions. Usually the shelf life is 4-10 months.
3. Of the two types of packaging - a plastic bag or a cardboard box with a waxed layer inside - it is better to give preference to the second, because it better withstands transportation.
4. When choosing a cooked and frozen product, you should pay attention to its color and shape. A good shrimp should be evenly colored, it can not have spots, chips or other damage to the shell, which ranges in color from pink and white to pink and orange. If the tail is flattened, it means that more than five hours have passed between catching and cooking the crustacean, or even it has been boiled after freezing. The tail of a quality shrimp is always curled, and the stronger the tail, the fresher the product.

How to defrost shrimp to preserve its flavor

Retail chains today offer shrimp both fresh, fresh-frozen and cooked-frozen. Cooked-frozen is the most common, which is why they are usually purchased. Defrost and cook them so that they are tasty and retain all their nutrients.

It will take at least 8 hours to defrost according to all the rules. It is best to put the shrimp in a colander, put a bowl under it so that the colander does not touch its bottom. Then the water will drain freely from the shrimp. This is the most gentle method.

If you need to defrost faster, you can put the shrimp in a special bag, which can be easily purchased at any hardware store for freezing vegetables or berries, and drop it into a bowl or pot with water at a temperature of 39-41 degrees. This method is also quite suitable, the meat will remain tender and nice.

When you need to urgently serve the table just brought from the store shrimp, you can directly frozen put them in salted boiling water and cover with a lid. As soon as the water boils again, wait 10-20 seconds and turn off the heat. Leave the shrimp in the boiling water for another 20 minutes.

Shrimp from the freezer can be put immediately on a heated pan with vegetable oil and fry them for 5 minutes with constant stirring.

Do not:

1. Defrost shrimp in the microwave, as they lose both their health benefits and their juice and flavor.
2. When defrosting, put the product in water without the bag: the juice will go into the water, the shrimp will become dry.

How to cook shrimp properly

It will take no more than 10 minutes to cook. If the shrimp are already defrosted, you need to rinse them under running water and cleanse them of foreign matter that could get caught in the shell or legs of the crayfish.

Water should be poured into a pot for cooking so that its volume exceeds the amount of shrimp by 2.5-3 times. The product can be lowered only in boiling water, which already contains all the necessary seasoning and dissolved salt. To make the meat more tender, it is a good idea to add lemon juice to the pot. Bay leaf and peppercorns, black pepper or allspice, are always ideal ingredients. Cloves are also good "friends" with shrimp, suitable for this dish and basil, ground red pepper, provenza herbs, rosemary.

It is better to boil these seafood for 2-3 minutes, if large - a little longer, about this in each recipe is usually stipulated particularly. As soon as they start to float - it means it's ready! The shell will be glossy by this time. You should pour out the water quickly in order not to overcook shrimps in boiling water, because they can become "rubbery".

Ready crayfish should be placed in a bowl or a plate, for beauty you can make a bed of lettuce, sprinkle shrimp with lemon juice or olive oil. Greens, olives and lemon rings are good for decoration.

Frozen Shrimp

If you are going to cook frozen shrimp, remember that you should defrost them first. Ideally in a colander or sieve on the refrigerator shelf, but you can in a thick bag to freeze in warm water. Once thawed, choose one of the recipes below.

Classic recipe.

Almost every housewife is bound to try some sort of edgy shrimp cooking recipe, but not always exotic recipes are to everyone's taste. And the classic one is time-tested. It requires salt, pepper, bay leaf and fresh or dried fennel.

To cook 1 kg of crayfish you need a large saucepan - at least 4 liters. Pour 2.5 liters of water into it, and pour 1.5 tablespoons of salt. Put it on the stove, and when the water boils, put dill, pepper and only then - shrimp. Boil it for 3 minutes and put 5 bay leaves. Drain after 2 minutes. Serve squeezed out the juice of a lemon together with the shrimp.

With spices

To boil 1 kg of shrimp, you will need 3 liters of water. Send a pot with water to the fire, and meanwhile large specimens - tiger or kingfish - first peel so that the meat is well saturated with aromas and flavors of spices.

When the water begins to boil, put 8 peas of allspice, 2 florets of cloves, pour the juice of a whole lemon, 2 cloves of garlic of medium size and 3 bay leaves into the pot. Stir in 2 tbsp of tomato paste in a saucepan. Once the water is boiling again, the shrimp can be lowered into it. Take out with a colander, when they float - it means they are ready. You can just pour out the water, and shrimp spread on a dish, squeeze a little lemon juice on them, add 0.5 tbsp. olive oil.

With the onions

Cut a medium onion in half rings, chop 1-2 cloves of garlic finely or pass through a garlic crusher. In a pan, in which the shrimp will be cooked, pour a little vegetable oil, preferably olive oil. Put it on the fire and fry the onion and garlic.

For this method of cooking you do not need to defrost the shrimp - put them in a pan with garlic and onions, pour water so that it covers the products and start to stew. It is not necessary to salt it. From boiling water to the end of cooking, it should take three minutes. The shrimp will be unusually tender, with a memorable flavor. Optionally, you can season them with lemon juice or vinegar.

With wine

Defrost the shrimp in a colander, so that the excess water is gone.

In a pot with 2 liters of water pour 2 cups of any wine. One medium carrot in a blender with 3-5 cloves of garlic. Put the resulting mass in the water with wine and put the pan on the stove. Add peppercorns, dried dill, bay leaf. As soon as the water boils, put the shrimp in it and boil for 3 minutes. Drain the water, and leave the crayfish to stand for 25-30 minutes.

Fresh shrimp

Unfortunately, it is quite common for housewives to cook fresh shrimp longer than the recommended time for fear that they will remain raw inside. The result is a product that looks very much like rubber and is inedible.

But the true connoisseurs of shrimp considered them the most delicious. To please such a connoisseur is really not very difficult, it is only necessary to follow the technology of preparation exactly.

So, not to be confused, we must remember - fresh shrimp is always not reddish-orange, but gray. For cooking, in addition to seafood, you need to prepare pepper, onions, lemon, salt, dried dill and bay leaf.

You will need twice as much water as the weight of the shrimp. In a large bowl with water, put half a lemon cut into slices, cut in half the onion and the remaining spices - everyone chooses the ratio according to his taste, and bring everything to a boil. Then put the shrimp in the boiling liquid. Boil their products until there is a pinkish or reddish hue. By this time, the product should float. For orientation: as a rule, it will take no more than 6 minutes for small crustaceans and 10 minutes - for large ones. Drain the water, throwing the seafood in a colander. Serve the shrimp with a sauce based on olive oil and juice squeezed from the second half of a lemon.

Unpeeled

The most important thing for shrimp is not to overcook it. According to the rules, the uncooked boiled and frozen shrimp should be boiled for 2 minutes, no more! Otherwise, instead of enjoying a delicious dish, you will have to chew hard rubber with difficulty.

Recipe "Easy as Possible".
Bring 1.5-2 liters of water to the boil (for 500-700 g of crayfish). Add salt to taste, add 3-4 bay leaves, pepper (if you want) to a pot. When water begins to boil, put shrimp, stir with a slotted spoon and cover. When the boiling appears again, take a minute, turn off the heat and, without wasting time, drain the water.

To eat such a shrimp, you need to clean it. First, tear the head off the shell, then remove it as well. To do this, incise each plate, and then carefully remove the shell. Next, take out the intestinal vein, which is a dark strip along the entire abdomen. To prevent it from tearing in the process of removal, it is better to make an incision lengthwise. That's all - you can send the meat to your mouth!

Peeled

Some shrimp lovers say that the cleaned shrimp do not need to be boiled, they just need to rest in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Once they are cooked, they are ready to be eaten.

Others, equally passionate fans of crayfish, say that it is necessary to boil them, but not longer than a minute in boiling water.

In both cases it is easy to tell when they are ready: shrimp turn orange.

Royal
Large (as big as the palm of an adult man's hand) king prawns are sold both peeled and not peeled. In general, the principle of their cooking is about the same, but there are slight differences.

Cooking king prawns requires 3 times as much water as the weight of the product. When the water has already boiled, you need to pour salt into it and put the product. For raw shrimp, salt needs 1.5 to 2 tablespoons per 1 liter of liquid. Peeled need two times less salt.

Unpeeled seafood cook until cooked for 7 to 8 minutes, peeled will be ready in 5 minutes. At the end of cooking, drain the water. Serving the table, for spiciness, you can sprinkle the products with ground red pepper.

To make the raw shrimp easier to clean, you should hold them under cold running water.

Argentine
Argentine shrimp are very rare in stores, their peculiarity is that it is impossible to breed them in the conditions of farms, they live only in the wild. They are always sold raw.

After defrosting the shrimp should be washed and the head should be cut off. Cut along the back of the shell, it is not necessary to remove it, with boiled meat it comes off faster. At this stage it is important to remove the intestinal vein.

Heat 3-4 liters of water to boiling in a saucepan and put 3 tablespoons of salt in it. Since these shrimp are very large, boil them in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes. After boiling, pour the water out and rinse the seafood under cold running water using a colander for a minute. Put the shrimp on a nice dish and sprinkle with lemon juice or olive oil, sprinkle with ground black pepper.

Tiger
Tiger shrimp is usually sold with the shell, and this makes it clear that this is the right delicacy. It can be with or without the head, but in the shell. It should be cleaned after cooking, and sent to the pot or pan in its chitinous "clothes". Before cooking, thaw the delicacy in a colander to get rid of the water. Bring water to the boil at the rate of 1 liter per 700 g of product and pour salt - 2 tsp. per 1 liter of liquid.

Add the juice of half a lemon, put 4-5 peppercorns and drop the shrimp in the boiling broth. Cook at a boil for about 2-3 minutes, then quickly drain the water, and shrimp put on a wide plate and peel - remove the shell and intestinal vein, then lift the knife and remove the guts from the belly. It remains to rinse the meat with clean water - the delicacy is ready to eat.

With lemon

To cook shrimp with lemon, apart from 1 kg of seafood, you'll need a big bay leaf, a couple of peppercorns, 1 tbsp dried dill, one medium-sized lemon, 3-4 cloves of garlic and 2.5-3 tbsp salt (if you like them saltier, you can increase the amount).

For 1 kg of shrimp you need 2 liters of water, bring it to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, adding all the spices (take half a lemon and pre-cut it into pieces). Only then you can put the shrimp in the boiling water. From the moment of boiling, boil them for 5-6 minutes, no more. Drain the liquid, and pour the shrimp juice, squeezed from the second half of the lemon.

With beer

With cloves
Shrimp for beer should be spicy, and therefore the spices need to take a lot and a variety. For 0.5 kg of shrimp you need 5 medium-sized bay leaves, 6-7 blossoms of cloves, 12-15 paprika peas. For 1.5 liters of water you will need 1 tsp. salt. Boil a marinade based on all the spices, gently put seafood in it and cook for about 3 minutes. Then pour the liquid off, putting the shrimp in a colander, divide the seafood on a nice plate and pour the juice of half a lemon for flavor.

With soy sauce
To cook shrimp according to this recipe, you will need not a pot, but a frying pan. Of the products, in addition to 500-700 grams of crayfish, you need to prepare for frying olive oil, a bunch of parsley greens, leeks (1 pc), garlic (2-3 cloves), lemon and soy sauce. If the shrimp are large - first you need to cut the shell on the back and take out the intestinal vein.

Leeks cut into rings and put on a heated frying pan with olive oil, fry a little, the fire under the pan should be low. Add the crushed garlic to the onion and after a minute, add the shrimp. Add fire to the pan, add a taste of squeezed lemon juice, and after a minute, add soy sauce (100g), sprinkle parsley greens, mix all the ingredients, put the lid on the pan, turn down the heat and simmer its contents for another couple of minutes. That's it, the shrimp are ready! They go great with beer.

In beer with garlic
You can also boil shrimp in beer. You get an interesting flavor with a slight pleasant aroma. For 0.5 kg of seafood take 2 bay leaves, the same number of garlic cloves, 6 peppercorns, ground black pepper, butter (4 tablespoons), salt to taste and a glass of beer, preferably pale.

Pour the seafood in a saucepan with beer and put it on medium heat. Put all the spices - garlic, pepper, bay leaf. Salt to taste, bring the contents of the pot to a boil and boil the crustaceans for 2 minutes.

While the shrimp are cooking, melt the butter in a water bath. Remove the shrimp from the crock pot with the beer, place them on a plate and drizzle with the melted butter.

For the salad

For the salad you need peeled shrimp, but you can buy them in the shell and peel them after boiling. By the way, this is a case where small crustaceans will do just fine.

To boil 1 kg of raw seafood you need to take 2.5 liters of water, in which to pour 1 tbsp salt and put 5 peppercorns and 2 bay leaves. Boil the shrimp for 4 minutes, drain it with a colander and rinse it with cold running water for a minute - so that it cleans better. After removing the upper part of the carcass (head), you should remove the shell, holding each crayfish by the tail, it will not be difficult.

Prepared meat can be poured with lemon juice, if necessary - a little more salt. It is good to add shrimp to a salad "Caesar".

For sushi

Boiled
For sushi, shrimp should be put on skewers and drop directly on them in boiling water, salted to taste. Cooking time directly depends on the size - from 5 to 10 minutes if the shrimp were fresh, if they were boiled, 2-3 minutes is enough.

Next, you need to take the skewers out of the water, remove the shrimp, cool down and proceed with the cleaning. First of all, remove the legs, then use a sharp knife to carefully cut the shell and as gently remove it. Then incise shallowly the abdomen lengthwise so that you can easily remove the ventral line. Whether or not to remove the tail depends on the circumstances; some sushi needs it.

Fried
Prepare shrimp for sushi by frying them in a frying pan in your favorite vegetable oil, in which to add for flavor garlic in whole slices (2-3 pcs.). Whether they are in a shell or not, do not keep them on the stove no more than three minutes, then remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and spread them on a paper towel to remove excess fat, and only then clean them. You can also deep-fry seafood on skewers.

In the microwave

Before cooking in the microwave, shrimp should be thawed, it is better to take those in the shell, it will hold the juice better. The main point - do not overcook seafood longer than the recommended time, so they are not overdried.

Put the crustaceans in a special dish for microwave, its lid should have a hole so that the steam goes out. Turn the microwave on maximum power, cook for about 2-3 minutes. When cooking is complete, salt, sprinkle with ground pepper and serve.

In the multicooker

Cooked in the multicooker with garlic and chopped herbs shrimp are sure to cause a sensation at the dinner table. For 0.5 kg of peeled seafood you need to prepare garlic (2 cloves), parsley, dill, green onion feathers.

Greens and garlic chop with a knife. In a bowl of a multicooker pour 1.5 to 2 liters of water and put herbs and garlic in it. Add salt, pepper and a couple of bay leaves. Close the multicooker and set the "Steam" or "Soup" mode. Place the thawed shrimp in the boiling water and cook for 3 to 5 minutes with the lid open. Then turn off the heat, drain the broth, and put the shrimp on a plate. If you are planning a dinner - you can cook rice as a side dish.

In the steamer

If you cook shrimp in the shell in the steam, they will remain juicy. For one load of steamer you need 12-14 large individuals without the head.

Thawed seafood put in a bowl and soak them in brine for half an hour (2 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water), then put on the steamer shelves, and the brine poured into her bowl for the sauce. Set the cooking time to 10 minutes.

In the meantime, make the sauce. In a blender, mix together the quail egg, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of cooked mustard, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 0.5 teaspoon of ground red pepper, a clove of garlic and a sprig of basil.

Place the cooked shrimp on a wide plate and serve with the homemade sauce, you can additionally serve with a bowl of wasabi.

How to properly peel shrimp

Shrimp can be cleaned either by hand or with kitchen scissors.

How to clean with your hands

You start by removing the head and legs of the shrimp. The shell should be removed by sliding your fingers along it from the head to the tail, separating each plate in turn. This should be done carefully so that the meat remains unharmed. The tail can be removed or left as a decoration - for example, for sushi or rolls. But be sure to remove the longitudinal dark belly thread.

Using kitchen shears.

First, as in the first option, remove the legs and head and move on to freeing the meat from the carapace. With scissors, slightly cut it on the back, on the side of the head, and continue cutting all the way to the tail. After that, the shell can be easily opened and removed. It remains only to remove the dark strip along the abdomen, for which the knife carefully make a shallow cut and pick it up with the tip of the knife.

Do I need to boil shrimp before frying?

Shrimp do not need additional boiling before frying, even large king prawns can be fried in oil immediately, and, in fact, even put them on the griddle directly from the freezer.

Cooking time for such seafood is 10 minutes when seafood is freshly frozen and in the shell, 5 minutes when they are not peeled but cooked-frozen. Fry peeled and thawed king prawns for only 5 minutes.

Pour oil into a frying pan, heat it over a high heat, and put the shrimp on low. Cover the pan with a lid and wait a couple of minutes, then turn the shrimp, salt and pepper, sprinkle the dill, cumin, chopped garlic. Cover with the lid and turn off after a minute.

Shrimp photos