Cooking shrimp is incredibly simple and record-breakingly fast, especially if you keep in mind some of the nuances that can confuse novice cooks. In order not to spoil a wonderful product, you need to know how and how much to cook shrimp. It is difficult to imagine a person who does not have love for them; with all my heart I sympathize with those who cannot afford to enjoy the delicacy from the heart. Properly cooked, aromatic, with tender, slightly sweet meat, they literally melt in your mouth.
In the world, seafood is valued for its subtle, refined taste and unique dietary properties. My recommendations will help you prepare the most delicious shrimp. Perhaps newcomers will find the very advice that they clearly lacked.
How to cook boiled-frozen shrimp
Let's get acquainted a little with the product beloved by many, and find out how to properly understand the variety of packages that are offered in abundance in stores.
There are two types of shrimp: small ones - caught in cold seas. And larger ones, warm-water, or Atlantic. The stores offer royal and tiger, which are classified as large types of product. Royal crayfish are pink in color and considered by gourmets to be the most delicious. Tigers, considered the largest, are distinguished by the presence of dark stripes on the shell, a somewhat reddish color and a different taste.
More often we choose small, ordinary ones. They allow you to save a little, and the taste is not inferior to large shrimp, especially if you know how to cook it correctly.
Fresh seafood is extremely rare. Carefully examine the proposed packaging; as a rule, on the shelves you will see:
- Frozen unpeeled shrimp in the shell.
- Frozen and already peeled.
- A cooked-frozen semi-finished product, which also comes in two types: peeled and unpeeled.
How long to cook shrimp in minutes depends on the size of the seafood and the method of freezing.
How much salt do you need
In most cases, unless specifically stated in the recipe, shrimp are cooked with salt added.
When cooking shelled crayfish, use 20 grams per liter of water. table salt. Uncleaned individuals will require twice as much - 40 grams.
How to choose king prawns for salad
To prepare an excellent seafood dish, it is not enough to have a good recipe on hand. Every home cook should know how to select king prawns.
- The first feature that distinguishes king prawns from other shellfish is size. But they also come in different sizes, which differs in price. Choose a product specifically for preparing your dish.
- The color of king prawns is bright orange - this product is fresh and recently frozen. If the color of the crustaceans is faded, the surface is covered with small dark dots - this is a stale product.
How to choose king prawns for salad
- In regions that are far from the sea, they are sold only frozen. The ice crust on fresh crustaceans should be as thin as possible. The more frost on a product, the longer it stays in the store. There is also a possibility that the shrimp were re-frozen - such a product is not suitable for cooking.
- Buying crustaceans of any kind is a must. It is by this part that you can determine the freshness of the product. If the head does not differ in color from the body, and is not deformed, the seafood is of high quality.
If you buy shrimp without heads, you run the risk of purchasing a low-quality product.
- Crustaceans are sold in packages of different sizes. By looking at the packaging, you can find out the shelf life of the product, the type of shrimp, and perhaps even the place of catch. The packaging should be transparent so that you can clearly assess the quality of the product.
- Shrimp can be bought by weight. This way you can save money and buy products individually, if, for example, salad portions are strictly calculated. Before buying, be sure to smell the seafood - the pleasant smell will speak in their favor. An unpleasant odor indicates spoilage of crustaceans and you should not buy them.
Now every cook knows how to properly cook king prawns and make them even tastier in the process.
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How to properly cook frozen shrimp
The delicacy cooks incredibly quickly; if you break this rule, the shrimp will become “rubbery”, tough, and the result will disappoint you. To prevent this from happening, learn the secrets of cooking. Squids require the same treatment; you can learn about the intricacies of their cooking by following the link.
- Seafood is cooked in two ways. If you want to get a rich broth, put it in cold water.
- For salads and other dishes, throw shrimp into boiling water, and count the cooking time after boiling.
- Pour 1 kg of water into the pan so that the shrimp are at ease. 3-4 liters.
- Rinse the product under running water. Pour water into the pan. For a kilogram of shrimp you will need 3-4 liters. If you are boiling them for further cooking, throw them into boiling salted water, not into the broth, and after boiling, cook for the required number of minutes.
- It’s easy to determine readiness: if the shrimp have floated to the surface and the color of the shell has become lighter, it’s time to take it out.
- Drain off excess water and serve.
- A small nuance: after removing the cooked shrimp from the pan, dip them in cold water for a few seconds. The fact is that the caught product does not cool down immediately, which means it continues to cook, which should not be allowed, otherwise the shrimp will become rubbery.
To improve the taste, you can add bay leaf, pepper, and squeeze lemon juice into the water.
How to properly cook frozen shrimp - recipes for the lazy
In a steamer
A standard steamer can take about 800 g of frozen shrimp. Additionally - 1 lemon, some dill seeds, and 1 tsp. olive oil.
Fill the steamer with water to the middle mark, place the shrimp in the lower bowl, sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon, and sprinkle with dill. Cook for 15 minutes without reducing the steam power. At this time, squeeze the juice from the second half of the lemon, add oil there, and pour the juice over the finished dish.
In a slow cooker
You will need a multicooker with a stewing mode (i.e., almost any one), about 600 g of shrimp per batch, a bunch of dill, lemon or lime, and, if desired, a little olive oil.
Place the shrimp in the multicooker bowl and see how much space they take up. Next, a little jewelry work is required - pour in enough water so that the bodies are covered with it, but it does not overflow. Turn on the “stove” to stewing mode, in about 20 minutes your shrimp will be cooked. By the way, if we take not boiled-frozen ones, but regular, fresh ones, the method will not work - we must first defrost them, not under water, but simply at room temperature, and rinse them thoroughly several times with water, in the bulk of the dish, otherwise you may get caught sand and pieces of undesirable seaweed.
Microwave
Take a bag of shrimp and a colander. We quickly rinse the shrimp with water, squeeze them a little, and pour them into a bag for baking fish (they are sold in supermarkets, for some reason, always in the household chemicals section, although it would be logical to sell them next to spices or fish). We fold the package, place it with the fold down, and pierce it at the top. That's it, turn on the stove for 12 minutes, and then carefully transfer the bag into a colander with a fork and let the water drain. You can season the finished dish with a bunch of dill, chopped in a blender along with 1 lemon, and a small amount of sea salt and ground black pepper.
In the microwave in a deep tray
This will require a little extra water or any shrimp marinade mixture from the recipes below. Fill with water so that it barely covers, turn on the soup cooking mode for 5-6 minutes, add salt and pepper, serve after cooling slightly.
How to properly cook shrimp for salad
You will need:
- Shrimp – 500 gr.
- Bay leaf – 2 pcs.
- Water – 2 liters.
- Salt – 40 gr. (for peeled 20 g).
How to cook boiled-frozen shrimp:
- Take boiled-frozen unpeeled shrimp. Defrost in any way.
- Boil water, adding a couple of bay leaves and salt.
- Place the product in a saucepan, let it boil and cook until it floats to the surface. Cooking time for small ones is up to 2 minutes, for large ones cook up to 10.
How to cook frozen unpeeled shrimp with lemon
Citrus such as lemon harmonizes perfectly with fish dishes and seafood, so you can boil shrimp with its addition.
Ingredients:
- lemon;
- 1 kg shrimp;
- bay leaf;
- peppercorns;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- dill, salt.
Before moving on to the recipe itself, it is worth knowing how to choose the right seafood.
When buying representatives of crustaceans, you should carefully look at the head. If it is black, then the product was frozen and already spoiled. The head should be light or dark gray in color. If the tails are very close to the head, it means the shrimp were frozen alive. It is also worth paying attention to the ice shell; it should be thin and transparent.
Preparation:
- Now let's move on to cooking, everything is simple here. Place a pan of water on the fire, add all the spices, herbs and lemon slices, cook the brine for 10 minutes.
- Then add the shrimp, add salt (about 2.5 tablespoons) and cook for 5-7 minutes. Then we taste it, if there is not enough salt, then we give the shellfish a little more time to brew in the brine.
The easiest way to cook shrimp
The first recipe will be the simplest of all that will be offered below. It is perfect for those who do not want to make any special culinary delights, but still want to get a tasty beer snack.
You need to take an ordinary colander, pour your favorite delicacy into it, be it ordinary or king prawns, and pour boiling water into it. You need to do this a couple of times, and then lower this colander into boiling water for half a minute, and then drain off everything unnecessary.
When serving, add a little salt and lemon juice.
True, you can only cook pre-processed products this way; for the rest, choose the recipes provided below.
Shrimp dishes at home - recipes
Shrimp is a very tasty seafood that can be eaten on its own, or can be used in other dishes. Recipes for shrimp dishes at home are waiting for you below.
Shrimp salad - recipe
Ingredients:
- shrimp in brine – 200 g;
- large green apple – 1 pc.;
- celery – 3 pcs.;
- sour cream – 50 g;
- large banana – 1 pc.;
- natural yogurt – 50 ml;
- cilantro – half a bunch;
- Iceberg lettuce leaves – 5 pcs.;
- red salad onion – 100 g;
- pepper, coriander, salt;
- walnut kernels – 50 g.
Preparation
Finely chop the onion, rinse it with cold water and marinate for about 15 minutes in water with sugar and vinegar. Then drain the marinade and squeeze out the onion. We tear the lettuce leaves into pieces with our hands. Cut the celery into thin slices. Chop the peeled apple into thin strips and lightly sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut the peeled banana into small pieces, sprinkle with lemon juice and add to the salad. Add pickled onions. Chop the shrimp and also add to the salad. Place yogurt, sour cream in a blender, add nuts and cilantro leaves. Grind all this into a homogeneous mass. Salt, pepper and season with coriander. Place half of the salad on a plate and pour over the dressing. Place the rest of the salad on top, also drizzle with dressing and garnish with shrimp and peeled walnuts.
Shrimp soup - recipe
Ingredients:
- carrots – 250 g;
- processed cheese – 300 g;
- peeled shrimp – 400 g;
- potatoes – 300 g;
- salt;
- greenery.
Preparation
Dissolve the cream cheese in boiling water. Cut the peeled potatoes into cubes and put them in water. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Peel and chop the carrots using a small grater. Then lightly fry it. When the potatoes are ready, add the carrots and shrimp. Bring the soup to a boil again and add some salt. At the end, add the greens, mix and turn off the heat. Cover the soup with a lid and let it brew for about half an hour. White bread croutons go perfectly with this soup.
King prawn kebab - recipe
Ingredients:
- king prawns – 125 g;
- chili pepper – 1 pc.;
- spices;
- lime – 1 pc.;
- olive oil – 30 ml;
- garlic – 2 cloves.
Preparation
Mix crushed chili with garlic, add spices, pour in olive oil, lime juice and add prepared shrimp to this mixture. Stir well and leave in the cold for an hour. Pre-soak wooden skewers in cold water for 20 minutes. Heat the grill as high as possible. Thread the shrimp onto skewers and bake until done, brushing them with the remaining marinade.
Shrimp baked in sauce
We start by preparing the sauce. Peel and finely chop the onion, saute (do not fry!) in vegetable oil, add 1 teaspoon of flour, and after 2 minutes - 0.5 cups of wine, 1 teaspoon of ketchup, 1 cup of sour cream, 1-3 tbsp. spoons of butter, salt, pepper, garlic and bring until thickened.
Now put the peeled shrimp (700 g) in a pre-greased dish, pour in the sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese (3 tablespoons) - and into a hot oven (200 degrees), baking until golden brown - i.e. very quickly.
All! Decorate with greens when serving.
Photo: Depositphotos
