How to cook Shrimp?

Ciao Hermann22,

Firstly, Welcome Aboard to Cheftalk.

have you seen the recipe from Benihana on <edit>?

I have also seen the same recipe with a change or two on <edit>

Since, I am Italian French, I have little experience with cooking  Japanese cuisine at home; however, I prepare fresh shrimp very frequently in Italia and Spain.

Hermann,  if you are using frozen shrimp, thaw or defrost thoroughly and pat dry.

The key is never over cook; preheat your skillet or a griddle with Olive Oil for Mediterranean dishes and / or in your case, the website recommends a Soy bean Oil as per the recipe on <edit>  and:

1) drizzle a tiny bit of fresh lemon on the shrimp

2) salt to taste

3) to taste: black pepper freshly ground

4) a touch of butter in the Soy Oil for sauté-ing 1 clove minced garlic 

5) Grill the Shrimp for close to 2 minutes per side if large depending on size of shrimp, until coralish pink and opaque and a slight grilled char; however, real quick grill. 

Hope this assists.  

Marge.

I think the pre-packaged cocktail shrimp are probably pre-cooked. Buy uncooked frozen shrimp if you can't get fresh. I live on the Gulfcoast of Florida, and between the bay and gulf shrimp, we are literally swimming in them.

The only time that you get shrimp that has not been frozen on board a shrimp boat and then sent to the market, is on the water, aka shrimpin’ ( or living really close to a shrimp farm and buying your product from them directly ) .  All shrimp has been flash frozen or IQF to preserve its freshness.

Kaneo & Willbkool,

Fish and shellfish are placed on Ice aboard small Mediterranean Fishing Boats; and then transported via same fishing boat or brought in to the destination Port or Docks or upon the beaches in small fishing villages. 

The fish and shellfish in tiny villages and small towns along the coasts are not freezer frozen by European Union law, and are only required to be placed on Ice for Small Quanity Consumer Consumption. Each small town or village  fisherman / fisherwoman sells a few  kilos of fish or shellfish to their neighbors or family members for their expenses.

There are stricter food safety laws obviously however, regarding large catches, for large hotels and large restaurants.  

We are able to obtain freshly caught shrimp along the Adriatic from the tiny fishing boats that pull up on the coast along the small towns and villages located here.

Have nice wkend.

Marge.

Get the frozen de-veined shrimp.  Defrost and then clean them by removing the shell and rinsing.  Place them in a single layer on a sheet pan with paper towels and then cover with more paper towels.  The idea is to remove as much of the moisture as possible.  When it's time to cook I place them in a bowl and season with olive oil and whatever herbs/spices I'm going for.   Throw them in a hot dry skillet and cook on one side for only a minute or even less and turn over.  Do NOT overcook.

Interesting timing. I just pulled some shrimp off the grill. I was going to our local market this morning for produce and there was a guy that had picked up big atlantic shrimp from the docks early this morning and brought them out to sell. Very fresh and large.

Dude!  That’s not a shrimp, that’s Godzilla!

Did you get a snap of the finished product?

(being landlocked really stinks!)           

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohegirlinaz 

Dude!  That’s not a shrimp, that’s Godzilla!

Did you get a snap of the finished product?

(being landlocked really stinks!)           

Haha yes they were quite large with the heads on! I had a few left and took a shot just for you. I marinated them with a chili and lime mixture and threw them on the barbie

OH MY!!

SOOOOO many Mahalos (thank you in Hawaiian)!!

… and I’m taking my Mom for Burgers tonight

… ya’ killin’ me!!

The seafood here is so bad, when you walk in to a place that sells any kind of fish or sort of water-critter, the smell is so overwhelming, that I have to turn around and walk out, FAST!!

I'm not criticizing anyone, I'm not calling anyone out.

DON"T COOK SHRIMP BY TIME ... COOK BY COLOR.    Get your pan screaming hot, then add the oil just before the shrimp. I stay on top of the pan using a wooden spoon stirring all the time. I like peanut oil because I think it takes the heat best. The shrimps should go from opaque white/grey to almost brite white/pink. 2/3 of the way through you could add a splash of soy sauce and 2-3 DROPS of sesame oil. 3/4 of the way through you could add a thickener such as 1-cup shrimp stock* w/ a teaspoon of cornstarch. If you wanted some "flavoring" such as citrus zests or hot chili oil, you should add them last. If you want to add some cashews, add them last too, stirring them in to get sauced. 

* Shrimp stock: all the shells you've got, 1 carrot, 1 celery, 1 garlic clove, S&P, sprig of thyme, parsley stems. Put everything but the shells into a food-pro and blitz. Start w/ 2-cups cold water, add everything and bring to boil. Bring down the heat, simmer for 20-minutes. Spoon off anything that looks nasty, strain through cheesecloth, add more water to make 2-cups and let cool. 

If I use soy sauce I don't season with any salt. There is salt in the stock I make and s-s is usually a salty flavor to begin with. 

Oooooh, what about with a Vietnamese twist?

Lemongrass, fish sauce, Shoyu (soy sauce), maybe just a little garlic?  Short marinade, a screamin’ hot wok with peanut oil, quick stir fry as you as Iceman, to color, throw those babies on a plate and LET”S EAT!  (the burgers were c---, ((premade-frozen-in-the-case-type)) tonight by the way, but Mom was happy)

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceMan 

I'm not criticizing anyone, I'm not calling anyone out.

 

DON"T COOK SHRIMP BY TIME ... COOK BY COLOR.    

Very true.  Exactly what I meant to say but didn't know how to express.  the only thing one should know about the timing of cooking shrimp is that it goes by really really fast.  Can't walk away from the pan for a second.

I also think your shrimp was precooked.  As far as the sauce, I'm pretty sure you can buy it in the Asian section of your local supermarket labeled as Japanese White Sauce, but if you want to make it yourself, here is the general idea.

Bennihana Japanese Restaurant Secret Recipe
2 cups soy sauce
1/3 cup roasted sesame seeds
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn dry mustard dissolved in 1 tspn water

Combine ingredients except cream in blender or food processor and mix together thoroughly. Pour mixture and one cup whipping cream into saucepan, simmer for 20 min stirring frequently.

Good luck.

Don't know whether it's just my imagination, but sometimes shrimp to get to me in NJ from halfway around the world can really be lacking in flavor.  I try to stick to stick with ones that are a little more "local" (at least by the label)... and totally understand that they coulda been at least a bit frozen along the way.  Think the USDA has some odd definitions about what frozen actually is?!?

Don't cook them long... just till pink and starting to curl up.  Occasionally will butterfly, bread and semi-deep fry... probably doesn't even take a MINUTE if oil is nice and hot.  No matter how they're cooked, if OVER-cooked will turn to rubber bands.

Largest shrimp I ever saw was at Wegman's... and they don't always have them.  They were marked 3-4/POUND... 4 ounce+ each.  They didn't have heads, so pretty much all meat... about the size of half dollar at head end.  OH, and $25/lb... not in MY budget!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohegirlinaz 

The only time that you get shrimp that has not been frozen on board a shrimp boat and then sent to the market, is on the water, aka shrimpin’ ( or living really close to a shrimp farm and buying your product from them directly ) .  All shrimp has been flash frozen or IQF to preserve its freshness.

Hey K-girl. I suppose you mean in the U.S.? Just about anywhere else in the world you can get fresh shrimp and sometimes live shrimp in stores, in markets, in ports, etc... 

FF, you are correct sir (or madam, in my best Ed McMahon voice)... I should have said in the US

... in fact there was an episody of America's Test Kitchen just not too long ago about shrimp and they talk about just that

On Oahu, Hawaii back , oh I don't know, maybe in the 80's or so, this group of Ocean research dudes, starter experimenting with different shrimps and they got their own shrimp farm going in Kahuku and the 'shrimp trucks' were born ...

We are lucky to have a (second)  home located on the gulf coast of Texas.

The places that sell bait shrimp (they have their own shrimp boats) will cull thru the catch and offer (table size) whatever shrimps that are really too large to fish with.

First come, first served.

The real reason I joined this thread was to offer caution to those that splash this delicate product with an acid before cooking.

Be careful with your timing unless you are making ceviche as acid starts the "cooking" process and may end up mushy.

Hmmm...the hubs took some of the guys floundering last nite.

Have my eye on 2 smallish fishies to stuff with chefedb's recipe and bake for tonite... along with a few ears of sweet corn and a watermelon ( already on ice!) that he bought from a farm truck on way home this AM.

So sad that that summer is almost finished and taking all the great produce with it.

So glad that I put enough things in jars (and vacuum sealed that which needs to be frozen, peaches! blackberries! green beans! squash!) to hopefully last until at least next spring.

Grilled/  /sauteed /  deep fried/ steamed/  boiled / poached /

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefedb 

Grilled/  /sauteed /  deep fried/ steamed/  boiled / poached /

Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it

No matter what island you visit or go to it is always like that.

Eastern Shores,

Thanks for posting your photo. Your shrimp look delicious.

Have nice Labor Day.

Marge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cacioEpepe 

Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it

You said it cacioEpepe:   http://youtu.be/4rT5fYMfEUc......lol.

Petals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herrmann22 

 

Yay! Someone answered part of my question! Thanks....I'll have to try that.

 

So the idea is not to overcook, have a very high heat and basically warm them up, or sear them a little. (for pre-cooked) Got it!

 

Thanks folks.

You have the idea of how to cook shrimp, but please do NOT use precooked shrimp, make sure it is raw and defrosted.  and for the sauce, I checked in the store the other day and I saw Lee's Tokyo Gourmet Japanese White sauce.  So, if you don't want to make it yourself, it is available.  http://easyasiasauce.com/site/#/home/

Sometimes i do shrimps this way. It´s delicious, sweet and sour.

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/76734-pictorial-imperial-shrimp-garlictomato-sauce/

The difference is that i use tomato paste and black chinese vinegar for added taste. There're variations with ketchup, but i dislike using ketchup in general.

I can guarantee that the shrimp that I buy from the shrimpers has never been frozen. They do put it on ice, but some of the shrimp are still literally kicking when I get them. It's easy to tell if shrimp have been previously frozen, the antennae (sp) usually fall off if they have been frozen. I've been out on several shrimp boats, and we used to cook some that were alive just as we peeled them, it doesn't get any better than that. It's nice to live a quarter of a mile from the water. I sometimes get more shrimp than I can eat, and I have frozen them in salt water. It's not quite as good as fresh, but they are alright for gumbo, and the shells come off easier. Make sure to save the heads and shells for stock as someone noted above.

Yes Herrmann22, just quickly heat up the pre-cooked shrimp and not for long, if that is all you can get. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herrmann22 

So the idea is not to overcook, have a very high heat and basically warm them up, or sear them a little. (for pre-cooked) Got it!

pre-cooked is already overcooked. There really is a world of difference between pre-cooked and raw. Think of buying pre-cooked chicken and re-heating it vs getting raw chicken and cooking it just before serving. Same kind of difference. 

You owe it to yourself to try to get your hands on some nice raw shrimps, even if they're frozen ones. 

Huge tip from WillBkool.

If you HAVE to freeze some uncooked shrimp...

De-head, but leave shell intact.

I use quart size glass canning jars and fill 3/4 way with salted water (salty as the sea my Gma Van taught me) and place enough shrimpies in container for one meal for 2 people (usually 12, depending on the size).

The product will displace some water, you still need to pour a bit more out to give the container some head space.

Unsalted water will leach the salt (and flavor) from shrimp.

However you decide to prepare your shrimp, do yourself a favor and buy local when at all possible. Not only will you get a better product, but you're helping your local economy. When at the fish counter here in Texas or back in Louisiana, I cringe any time I see someone purchasing foreign product. It goes without saying that quality ingredients make quality food. This is even more true when it comes to seafood. Spend the extra money for the best shrimp you can buy. This will go a long way in maximizing a dish's potential.