What kind of shrimp do you like best?

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Shrimp is a general name for many species of several major categories under the class Malacaridae of the subphylum Crustacea of ​​the phylum Arthropoda. In a narrow sense, shrimp refers to species such as prawns, lobsters, and crayfish. Of course, there are also many creatures with the word "shrimp" in their names, such as the orders Phylogenes, Mysids, Shrimpformes, and Amphipoda.

The umami taste of shrimp meat mainly comes from a variety of amino acids and flavor nucleotides, and these umami substances will gradually decompose after the shrimp dies. As the time of death increases, the microorganisms in the shrimp body will also multiply in large numbers. Therefore, stale shrimp will not only have no umami taste but also have a strong fishy smell.

18 Ways to Cook Shrimp

As long as the shrimp is fresh enough, blanching can retain the original flavor of the shrimp to the greatest extent. You only need to add a light dipping sauce that suits your taste (I use rice vinegar + minced ginger as dipping sauce for blanched shrimp, but it is not recommended to use seasonings with too strong flavors, which will take away the freshness of the shrimp). There is a more interesting cooking method - "Sauna Shrimp": This dish is very vivid. Put the shrimp in a special container, heat the stone and place it under the container, then pour cold water, so that a lot of steam is generated, and the shrimp is steamed. The cooked shrimp can be eaten with the prepared seasoning.

Blanched white shrimp. Image: Xixi's Food Love Letter/ Douguo Food

I think the methods of oil-braising and oil-frying are more suitable for frozen shrimps, especially large shrimps. The meat of frozen shrimps is generally dry, and the oil-braising method allows the shrimp meat to absorb some oil and sauce, so the shrimp meat becomes soft and tasty. After frying, there will be a wonderful effect of crispy shrimp skin and tender shrimp meat. I once ate "fried prawns" at Tianjin Yanchunlou, which used large-sized Chinese prawns, and the taste was quite good. The method of frying is similar to that of oil-braising, but there are also differences in marinating and pouring sauce, and the flavor is still different.

Pan-fried prawns | Erzhu

Stir-frying is generally used to cook shrimps. Fresh shrimps are made by removing the head, shell and shrimp thread. Stir-frying shrimps is usually done without adding anything except salt. After cooking, the shrimps are bright, translucent, tender and have the chewy texture of shrimp meat. Other dishes cooked with shrimps include Longjing shrimps, stir-fried shrimps, soft fried shrimps, stewed shrimps, etc.

Sauteed Asparagus and Shrimp | Pixabay

Suzhou Shrimp Pork Rib Noodles | Erzhu

In the past, Beijing restaurants had a famous dish called "Crystal Shrimp Cakes" which was also made from shrimp. Unlike stir-fried shrimp, this dish usually uses fresh white shrimp and pork fat in a ratio of 7:3, minced together, added with starch, scallion juice, and ginger juice, and then made into cakes and fried in a pan. It is eaten with pepper and salt. In the words of Mr. Liang Shiqiu, crystal shrimp cakes are: "white as solidified fat, warm as soft jade, and crisp and crisp in the mouth."

"Stir-fried live shrimp" is a common way of eating in the southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. The stir-fried live shrimp in Louwailou, West Lake, is very famous. Most of the methods are to remove the antennae, feet, and forehead swords from fresh live shrimps, put them in a container and marinate them with seasonings. Due to the differences in tastes in different places, the seasonings used will be slightly different, but they are mostly soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, cooking wine, etc. Generally, the shrimps are still alive when they are served. Experienced diners will put the shrimps in their mouths and bite open the shrimp shells with their teeth like eating melon seeds, and suck out the shrimp meat to eat. I have eaten it several times when I was on a business trip in Jiangsu. Most of the shrimps used were Japanese swamp shrimp. Like the stir-fried red crab, although the taste is delicious, as a northerner, I am not lucky enough to enjoy it. After tasting only a few each time, my stomach began to protest.

Shanghai Style Shrimp | Douguo Food Netizen @爱吃没

To eat shrimp, you need to know shrimp

After talking about common cooking methods, let's talk about the common shrimps in the market. According to their living environment, shrimps can be divided into two categories: "sea shrimps" (represented by prawns) and "river shrimps" (represented by swamp shrimps).

Prawn

Shrimp is a general term for a type of shrimp. There are many common types of shrimp on the market now, the most common of which is Penaeus vannamei. Because of the large production in the waters near Ecuador, it is also called white shrimp after it was introduced. This kind of shrimp grows fast, has strong adaptability, and has a high meat yield. As long as the breeding method is proper, it can be put on the market in about 100 days. Every year from August to September, when farmed Penaeus vannamei shrimp are put on the market in large quantities, I will buy a few kilograms of very cheap small sizes, blanch them at home, and eat them very happily without spending much money.

Litopenaeus vannamei | Jose Francisco Colorado Dapa;

Before the introduction of Penaeus vannamei, the "prawns" in the market were called Chinese shrimp. Chinese shrimp is also called Oriental shrimp and prawn. It looks very similar to Penaeus vannamei, but the forehead of Chinese shrimp is much longer than that of Penaeus vannamei.

In the past, Chinese shrimps were famous in the Bohai and Yellow Seas. They were also very large, with large individuals growing to nearly 30cm. However, due to overfishing, wild resources have been severely depleted, and the breeding cost is much higher than that of Vannamei shrimps. Therefore, they are not as common as Vannamei shrimps in the market, and the price is also very high. The flavors of these two types of shrimps are similar. As long as they are fresh enough, they are delicious no matter how they are cooked. Smaller ones are more suitable for blanching, while larger ones are up to you.

Chinese prawns | Jinsuk Kim / Animal Pictures Archive

There is another type of shrimp that is more common in the market. Its trade name is tiger prawn, and its Chinese name is Japanese prawn. Compared with the gray and inconspicuous Chinese shrimp and Vannamei shrimp, tiger prawns are much more stunning in appearance. Not only does it have brown spots on its body, but its tail is also dotted with yellow and blue patterns. I think the meat and taste of tiger prawns are better than Chinese shrimp and Vannamei shrimp. If it is fresh and clean, it can even be used as sashimi. However, due to its relatively small number, it is not as common as its gray relatives in the market, and its price is also higher.

Colorful tiger prawns | Wang Xinyi

The giant tiger prawn (note that it is not the tiger prawn) is a giant among prawns. The largest individual recorded is 33cm long and can weigh more than 500g. Because of its dark body color, it is also called black tiger prawn or grass prawn. The tiger prawn grows quickly and is very common in the Southeast Asian market. However, compared with the previous two types of prawns, the meat of the tiger prawn lacks the chewiness, especially the frozen tiger prawn, which has a very soft texture and a poor taste. Therefore, when cooking, it is usually roasted, braised, baked with cheese, pan-fried or curried to make up for it.

Curry Shrimp | Douguo Food User @亲爱的兔美酱

Shrimp

Another well-known shrimp on the market is the jiwei shrimp, but the jiwei shrimp does not refer to a specific type of shrimp. "Jiwei" refers to a way of catching shrimp: when catching shrimp, a stone foundation is built to enclose the shrimp, and the shrimp caught are called jiwei shrimp. The more common "jiwei shrimp" are the two species of Penaeus lanceolatus and Penaeus longipes.

Metapenaeus ensis | ふうけ/Wikipedia

The prawns are more common in the southern market. The first time I heard the name of prawns was in the movie "Father and Son Classic Car". Lao Kui and Erzi went to work in the special economic zone and went to a restaurant with Shu Yin, a young female tour guide who worked with them. Miss Shu quickly ate a lot of prawns. The shells were still intact after peeling. Erzi thought she hadn't eaten yet, which made a joke. The size of prawns is generally small, only about 15cm, and it is more suitable to be eaten by blanching. Of course, as long as they are fresh, they are delicious in salt baking, peeling and frying, and typhoon shelter.

Typhoon Shelter Prawns, soft and crispy | Rosemary / Wikipedia

Dried shrimps

Dried shrimp and dried shrimp are both dried products, and are not a specific type of shrimp. They are mainly used for cooking and soup seasoning. Dried shrimp are commonly made from shelled Chinese whip shrimp and high-ridge whip shrimp, while dried shrimp are more complicated. The most common ones are Chinese hair shrimp and white shrimp, but the species in dried shrimp are often very rich, such as various other types of shrimp, small crabs, small fish and various strange creatures.

If you look carefully among dried shrimps and dried shrimps, you will often find surprises like mini crabs | Pixabay

Argentine red shrimp

In recent years, the "Argentine red shrimp" that has become quite famous in the market is also a trade name, which includes multiple species, among which the more common one is the Musculus trachomatis. Nowadays, Argentine red shrimp is usually caught by professional fishing boats, and the caught shrimp is directly frozen below -30℃. This low-temperature quick freezing method retains the freshness of the shrimp to the maximum extent. Fresh red shrimp can be eaten raw as sashimi. Fresh red shrimp has a relatively tender texture. I also recommend cooking it with oil stew and pepper salt.

Mashed potatoes and cheese baked Argentine red shrimp | West Malaysia Gardenia / Douguo Food

Sweet shrimp peony shrimp

Sweet shrimp and peony shrimp are a type of shrimp that are very suitable for eating raw. The most common sweet shrimp is the northern long-headed shrimp, while the peony shrimp are mainly broad-ridged long-headed shrimp and Japanese long-headed shrimp. This year, a wide-angled long-headed shrimp produced on the west coast of the United States is also classified as a peony shrimp.

Northern long-necked shrimp (Pandalus borealis), also known as Arctic sweet shrimp or Arctic shrimp | Tomasz Sienicki / Wikipedia

These shrimps generally live in cold waters below 300 meters. In order to adapt to the environment, the biological enzyme activity in their bodies is very high. However, after they die in the water, the biological enzymes are no longer controlled by the body, decomposing their own proteins and releasing a large amount of free amino acids. This phenomenon, called "autolysis", creates a fresh and sweet taste. Under refrigerated conditions (4-6°C), the sweetness will reach its peak after 24 hours of autolysis, and the shrimps are most suitable for consumption at this time. I once tried to cook the sweet shrimps for consumption, but the result was that they completely lost their chewy taste and almost lost their sweetness. It was simply a waste of food.

Sweet shrimp is often seen in Japanese cuisine | Pixabay

Antarctic krill

Antarctic krill has only appeared on the market in recent years. It is the trade name of several species, including Antarctic krill, crystal krill, cold krill and long-fronted cherry krill, among which Antarctic krill accounts for the largest proportion. Although krill is called shrimp and looks exactly like shrimp, it is quite distantly related to the shrimp mentioned above in terms of taxonomy.

Since the fluoride level in krill shells is very high and unstable, when the krill die, it will quickly penetrate into the meat, resulting in a strange taste and unsuitable for human consumption. Therefore, krill caught in the past were often processed into shrimp meal for use as feed. Now, with the development of processing technology, many krill products suitable for human consumption have appeared on the market, such as canned krill, krill flakes, etc.

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem | Professor Dr. habil. / Wikipedia

lobster

Lobsters can be said to be the leaders of the seafood market. Basically, all kinds of lobsters are representatives of high-end seafood. There are many kinds of lobsters in the seafood market now, including fancy variegated lobsters, Australian rock lobsters, American lobsters and European lobsters with big claws, and triangular lobsters with straight eyebrows and eyes, etc. Although they are far apart in taxonomic status, in the eyes of foodies, their common point is that they are meaty, and the pleasure of eating them is simply indescribable.

Splendid lobsters were once common in wet markets, but are now a Class II protected species | CSIRO / Wikipedia

Generally, the meat of lobster is concentrated in the abdomen, and there is also a lot of meat in the claws of the lobster. Common ways to cook it are to open the back and cook it with garlic vermicelli, baked with cheese, etc. It is also recommended to cook it with pasta so that the pasta can absorb the juice of the lobster meat and make the noodles more delicious.

Lobster Pasta | Sugar Cookies / Douguo Food

Mantis shrimp

There are many other kinds of sea shrimps, such as fan shrimps, cicada lobsters, deep-sea crayfish, mole shrimps, cicada lobsters, and pistol shrimps. Because they are rarely seen on the market, I will not go into details here.

Nine-toothed fan shrimp | Erzhu

There is also a type of mantis shrimp that is called shrimp but not shrimp. Its official Chinese name is Mantis Shrimp, also known as Mantis Shrimp, which belongs to the order Stomatopoda. The most common one on the market is Oropoda mantis shrimp. There is also the Japanese Toothfinger Mantis Shrimp, which is more common in Fujian and is nicknamed "Pink Cowherd". There are also the large ones, commonly known as the Fortune Shrimp, and the Cygnus punctatus, commonly known as the Zebra Peeing Shrimp. These two types of mantis shrimp can grow to nearly the length of an adult's forearm.

Mantis shrimps are also delicious. Small ones are delicious when steamed directly, or with pepper and salt. For large ones, it is recommended to open the back with vermicelli and garlic paste. The shell of mantis shrimp is very unfriendly. It is not only hard to peel, but also has many small sharp thorns that prick your hand. Many people get pricked by mantis shrimp every time they eat it.

Salt and pepper shrimp | Erzhu

River Prawn

After talking about sea shrimps, let's talk about river shrimps. Generally speaking, river shrimps are long-armed shrimps and swamp shrimps, which live in freshwater and are large and suitable for eating. Now some farmed white shrimps are also called river shrimps. The stir-fried live shrimps mentioned earlier are generally Japanese swamp shrimps or long-armed shrimps (larger in size). Some stir-fried shrimps in Suzhou cuisine are also made of Japanese swamp shrimps that are hand-peeled and stir-fried.

There is a species of Macrobrachium rosenbergii introduced from Malaysia. Because it requires a higher temperature for growth, it is very common in the southern market, but less common in the northern market. Macrobrachium rosenbergii is characterized by fast growth and large size. Large-sized individuals are more than 30cm long and weigh more than 500 grams. The meat of Macrobrachium rosenbergii is flaky and tastes slightly worse, so it is suitable for cooking by roasting or pan-frying.

Macrobrachium rosenbergii, also known as the freshwater long-armed prawn, is easily recognizable by its long, light blue arms. | Citron / Wikipedia

Freshwater crayfish, the most famous of which is the spicy crayfish, which is called crayfish because it looks like a lobster and is small. As for the cooking method, the most popular one is spicy crayfish, which is popular all over the country. I remember when I was a child, crayfish was extremely cheap and not many people bought it. They were usually steamed with dipping sauce or fried at home. Now it is said that eating spicy crayfish in Guijie costs more than ten yuan per piece, which is still cheap.

Spicy Crayfish | Erzhu

Recently, there is also an Australian freshwater crayfish on the market, mainly three species of the genus Chelicerus. The shell of this shrimp is blue-green and looks good. It used to be sold in the pet market for dozens of yuan each, but now it is dozens of yuan per catty. When it first came out, many friends bought a few by the catty and took them home to raise for fun. The cooking method is similar to that of Ma Xiao. In addition, there are native crayfish in Northeast my country, which also look like crayfish. Now due to various reasons, the number is getting smaller and smaller, and it is almost not seen in the market.

Bright blue | Bleckd / Wikipedia

After talking about so many kinds of shrimps, I wonder which one you like. Why not invite three or five friends to the market to buy some shrimps, and then come back to have a drink and eat them.

Author: Erzhu