Unlocking Flavors: A Guide on How to Cook and Season Shrimp
Seasoning is very important when cooking shrimps, and I have tried various methods; now, I will share with you the secrets of cooking and seasoning shrimps, and turn fresh shrimps into a feast for your tongue!
How to Cook and Season Shrimp
1. Food selection and processing
Choose fresh shrimps because the fresh shrimp meat is tender and chewy.
Clean the shrimps, cut off the shrimp claws, shrimp legs, shrimp whiskers, and the shrimp heads. Use a toothpick to gently pick out the shrimp thread from the second joint on the back of the shrimp.
2. Cooking Method
Cooking without adding a drop of water
Spread the chopped ginger slices on the bottom of the pot, then add the scallion segments and onion shreds.
Place the processed shrimps neatly on top and add a spoonful of white wine to remove the fishy smell.
Then cover the pot and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
This method can preserve the original flavor of the shrimp without adding a drop of water. The shrimp meat is chewy, fresh and tasty, and the nutrients are not lost.
Stir-frying method
If you like a rich taste, you can choose to stir-fry the shrimp. After processing the shrimp, add an appropriate amount of cooking oil to the pan and heat it. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and stir-fry until it changes color, then add the shredded ginger.
Then add the minced garlic and chili and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the prawns, add salt, chicken essence, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce for seasoning. Stir-fry quickly over high heat until the seasoning is coated on the shrimps.
Finally, sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve.
The shrimps cooked in this way are spicy and tasty and go very well with rice.
3. Basic seasoning
Regardless of which method you use, salt and pepper are very basic seasonings. Salt can enhance the flavor, while pepper can remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor.
Special seasoning
If you like a richer flavor, you can prepare a dipping sauce. Cut the chili pepper into rings, mince the garlic, add chopped green onion, white sesame seeds, and pepper powder, pour hot oil on it to stimulate the aroma, then add a spoonful of salt, a spoonful of chicken essence, a little sugar, two spoonfuls of light soy sauce, two spoonfuls of balsamic vinegar, a little oyster sauce, and an appropriate amount of sesame oil, mix well, and dip the shrimp in this dipping sauce, which tastes especially good.
What is the best cooking method for shrimp?
There are many ways to cook shrimp, you can choose according to your taste:
If you like the freshness of shrimp, you can choose to steam or boil the shrimp. For boiling, first, you just need to wash the shrimp, add enough water to the pot, put onion, ginger and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell. After the water boils, put the shrimp in and wait until the shrimp turns red and cooked.
If you like a rich taste, you can choose braised prawns in oil. After processing the prawns, put them into the oil pan and fry them until cooked. Then add oyster sauce, light soy sauce and other seasonings, then add water and simmer until the sauce is rich.
When hot, if you like a crispy taste, you can make salt-baked shrimps. Coat the shrimps with flour or starch and fry them in hot oil until golden and crispy. After taking them out, use the remaining oil in the pan to fry the pepper and salt, then pour the shrimps in and stir-fry evenly. This way, the shrimps will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Should you cook shrimp in oil or butter?
Either vegetable oil or butter can be used to cook shrimp, and which one you choose depends on your taste preference.
Personally, I prefer to use vegetable oil. Common vegetable oils include corn oil, olive oil, etc. Vegetable oil has a relatively high smoke point and is very suitable for frying and stir-frying shrimp. At the same time, cooking shrimp with vegetable oil can quickly fry the shrimp until the skin is crispy, lock the moisture inside the shrimp meat, and better highlight the freshness of the shrimp itself.
Butter has a strong milky flavor. If you like milky flavor, you can choose to cook shrimp with butter, which is very suitable for making garlic shrimp or cream shrimp. But you need to pay attention to the low smoke point of butter. When cooking shrimp with butter, pay attention to the heat. Too high a heat can easily cause the shrimp to burn.
In general, if you want to simply highlight the original flavor of the shrimp, then vegetable oil is suitable for you; if you want to add a mellow milky flavor, then butter is your ideal choice.
How to cook frozen shrimp?
Cooking frozen shrimp is actually quite simple.
First, you need to take out the frozen shrimp and thaw it at room temperature or in cold water. Be careful not to use hot water as much as possible to avoid affecting the taste of the shrimp meat.
After the shrimps are thawed, clean them, cut a knife on the back of the shrimps and pick out the shrimp thread.
Then boil a pot of water and add ginger slices, scallion segments and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell.
After the water boils, put the shrimp in and cook for 3-5 minutes until the shrimp turns red and its body bends, then you can take it out.
Serve with your favorite sauce.
How to cook shrimp with shell on?
According to the following:
Shell-on shrimp can be used to make salt-grilled shrimp. The specific method is as follows:
Preparation: Clean the shrimps, drain well and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with appropriate seasonings such as salt, black pepper and olive oil and spread evenly.
Baking: Preheat the oven to 200°C, place the baking tray in the middle of the oven, and bake for 5-10 minutes, until the shrimp shells turn red and the shrimp meat is cooked through.
Serving: After baking, take out the dish and sprinkle some chopped green onions or coriander on it as decoration.
How to cook shrimp on stove?
1 Prepare ingredients: fresh prawns, water, and salt.
2. Clean, devein and peel the prawns and rinse them well.
3. Pour enough water into a large pot and add the appropriate amount of salt.
4. Place the pot on the stove over high heat and heat the water and salt until the water boils.
5. When the water starts to boil, carefully place the prawns into the water.
6. Continue to cook the shrimp until they turn orange-red and float to the surface of the water.
7. Turn off the heat and remove the prawns and blanch them in ice water.
8. Drain the shrimps and place on a plate.
