Shrimps can be called one of the most popular seafood in the diet of Russians. They are affordable, tasty, and easy to prepare. The easiest way is to boil it in water and serve immediately. However, even in this recipe, there are nuances. We tell you how to cook shrimp properly: boiled-frozen and frozen raw.
What are shrimp
Types of shrimp are divided into cold-water and warm-water. They differ from each other in size and taste. Warm water lives in the waters of the seas and oceans of the South-Eastern countries, but for food, they are most often grown in artificial conditions. They have a fairly large size: an average of up to 35-40 cm in length. However, especially large tiger prawns are also found off the coast of the Philippines, an individual can reach 60-70 cm and weigh more than half a kilogram (they are usually called royal). Warm water shrimp has a delicate sweet taste.
In Russia, you can find exclusively cold-water shrimp. They are caught in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Sea of ​​Japan, and the Barents Sea. They are much smaller than warm-water ones and rarely grow more than 5-7 cm in length. Such a shrimp has a taste that is brighter and richer than tropical shrimp, and the meat is juicier.
In total, there are about 2,000 different species of these crustaceans in nature, and all of them are suitable for eating. Most often and in large volumes, only 35 varieties are mined. In Russia, due to difficulties in importing products from abroad, consumers have even less choice.
How to choose the right product
In Russian stores, as a rule, fresh-frozen or boiled-frozen shrimp are presented. It is not difficult to distinguish them: seafood already cooked before freezing has a pale pink color, while raw seafood will be greenish-gray.
Also, shrimp can be unpeeled or already rid of shells. As a rule, shrimp cooked unpeeled are tastier.
Important
It is almost impossible to bring fresh shrimp to the store: they begin to deteriorate within two hours after being caught. Therefore, if you see chilled seafood on the counter, most likely they were simply thawed and put on ice.
Frozen shrimp is almost always covered with a thin layer of ice-glaze. This is normal, but make sure that the crust is not too thick and that the crustaceans themselves do not stick together. The permissible percentage of glazing, according to Russian legislation, should not exceed 7% of the mass of goods. The actual glaze percentage is often indicated on the packaging. Also, make sure that there is no snow or ice in the seafood bag.
When buying, be sure to pay attention to the color of the crustacean. Boiled-frozen seafood should be pale pink but in no case hot pink and orange. White spots on the shell may indicate that the product has been frozen, and black spots may indicate that it has deteriorated. But you should not be afraid of the brown head: this is a sign of a pregnant shrimp, which is considered more useful.
Advice
Pay attention to the shape of the shrimp: raw can be straight, but boiled-frozen should be sold exclusively with a curved tail. If the shrimp is straight, it means that it was cooked already dead.
It is customary to determine the size of shrimp by caliber: the numbers on the package, for example, 50-70, 70-90, or 90-120, indicate how many pieces will be contained in one kilogram of the product. Accordingly, the smaller this number, the larger the shrimp will be.
How to cook shrimp so that they turn out tasty and juicy
Cooking delicious shrimp is not difficult at all. The main requirement is not to overexpose the crustaceans in hot water, otherwise, they will lose their taste and become rubbery.
First of all, frozen seafood should be thawed or at least rid of excess ice. This can be done in a simple way: place in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Then let the water drain and start cooking.
To make it tasty, you need to place the shrimp exclusively in boiling water, and its volume should significantly exceed the volume of the crustaceans themselves at least twice. And do not forget about salt, otherwise, the product will turn out not so tasty. At least 1-1.5 tablespoons of salt should be put per liter of liquid.
Cooking time for boiled-frozen seafood depends on its size. It is enough to cook very small crustaceans for about a minute. A medium-sized shrimp will be ready in 2-3 minutes. For cooking large individuals, it will take at least 5-7 minutes. If you prefer to cook frozen shrimp that was not cooked before freezing, increase the cooking time by a couple of minutes.
The nuances of cooking crustaceans
To make the shrimp even tastier, add aromatic seasonings, in addition to salt, to the water, for example:
- Bay leaf;
- Dill;
- cloves;
- cinnamon;
- allspice;
- ginger;
- garlic;
- lemon juice.
Also, shrimp should be boiled with a head and a shell, so more flavoring and aromatic substances will be preserved in the meat itself, and not boiled into the broth.
What can be done?
Cooking interesting dishes from boiled shrimp, for example, pasta or salad will turn out delicious.