TOP-7 recipes for delicious and original shrimp dishes. How to cook and serve them correctly?
Shrimp are crustaceans that are widespread in the seas and freshwater bodies. The size of representatives of this group varies from 3 to 20 cm. They are preferred to be added to many traditional dishes. No wonder they are nutritious, rich in easily digestible protein, iodine, sodium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and calcium, and also have an amazing taste. Moreover, they are low-calorie foods. As an independent dish, it is a delicacy.
Shrimp Cooking Tips
One of the first questions faced by culinary experts who bought seafood is how to cook shrimp? Failure to comply with the time intervals, you risk ruining the dish and making it tough. Since shrimp contains a lot of protein, they quickly harden upon digestion and lose all their juiciness. Moreover, they lose all their beneficial properties.
First, examine the package you purchased. It will indicate whether it is raw seafood (gray in color) or already cooked (pink-beige color). This will determine how much to cook the shrimp.
If you have ready-made ones, then you should pour them into a colander and pour boiling water over them. Thus, you will get rid of excess ice and carry out the primary heat treatment. Some leave them defrosting naturally, which is also permissible. Then the shrimp is placed in a saucepan, again poured with boiling water. He must cover them completely. After 2 minutes, drain the water. The seafood is taken out with a slotted spoon, put in a bowl, poured over with your favorite sauce and sprinkled with lemon juice. This is considered a classic shrimp recipe.
Some chefs clean the meat before cooking, while others do it after. But there is not much difference between the end result. It all depends on your preferences and the recipe you choose. This process begins with a spiral-shaped separation of the head. Then they gently pull the tail, along with it, the legs come off. Then the intestinal vein should be removed. You can pick it up with tweezers and pull it out gently.
Take your time to throw out the shells, as they can be used to cook nutritious fish soup or make a sauce.
Cooking raw shrimp is not particularly different in technology. They are also washed with boiling water if they are frozen. Then water is poured into the pan, which will be 3 times more than the approximate volume of shrimp, because they should not deform during cooking. Favorite seasonings are added to it, salted and brought to a boil. After that, the seafood is poured and boiled for about 6-7 minutes. When they are ready, they will float to the surface. They just need to be thrown in a colander and further preparations are carried out. Some recipes recommend leaving them in the broth for another 10 minutes, as this will make them even juicier. Now you know how to cook frozen shrimp.
To determine the quality of shrimp, you need to pay attention to their shell. It should be shiny, whole, with a uniform rich color and a curled tail. Black-headed shrimp have a flabby meat structure and do not taste good. Try to avoid them. Do not buy shrimp with ice glaze thicker than 1 mm. This indicates that they have been frozen for a long time and have already lost their useful properties. Moreover, you will spend money on water for the price of seafood. And if there is snow in the package, it means that the product went through a freeze and thaw cycle, which is even worse. The most nutritious are the carcasses of females in which there is caviar.
The fried prawns are obviously not as healthy as the boiled ones, but they taste just as delicious. They go well with oregano, nutmeg, dill, rosemary, garlic, basil, onions, cumin, marjoram, allspice and bay leaf. You can bread seafood in chopped chips, breadcrumbs, flour, coconut, sesame and starch.
TOP 7 recipes for shrimp dishes
You will learn about different shrimp recipes and how to prepare them. This seafood can be boiled, fried, baked, stewed, marinated, and dried. The dish can be presented on a festive table or a children's party. Be sure it will be eaten first and asked for more.
Caesar salad with shrimps
Since shrimp are hypoallergenic, they can and should be eaten by children. The following shrimp salad recipe will appeal to many.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 83 kcal.
- Servings - 2-3
- Cooking time - 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Romano salad - 1 bunch
- Parmesan - 30 g
- Tiger prawns (raw) - 10 pcs.
- Liquid honey - 1 tablespoon
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice - 3 tsp
- Olive oil - 7 tablespoons
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- Table salt - to taste
- White bread - 3 slices
- Garlic - 2-3 cloves
- Dry Provencal herbs - 1/2 tsp
- Chicken egg - 1 pc.
- Mustard - 1/2 tsp
- Anchovy fillet - 4 pcs.
- Worcestershire sauce - 5 drops
Step by step cooking "Caesar" with shrimps:
- Raw shrimps are washed under running water and removed from the shell, head and intestinal veins. Dry with paper towels.
- Seafood is salted, pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice, liquid honey and a tablespoon of olive oil are added. Mix the ingredients and let it brew for half an hour.
- Then wipe the marinade with paper towels.
- Pour olive oil into a frying pan, heat it up and add pickled shrimp.
- On each side, they are fried for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- The fried shrimp is put in a bowl and the sauce is made.
- A couple of tablespoons of olive oil is poured into a bowl, peeled garlic cloves are passed through a press and left for a couple of hours.
- Over time, the mixture is poured into a frying pan and heated.
- White bread is cut into cubes and fried in garlic oil.
- After that, the croutons are poured onto a baking sheet, sprinkled with salt and Provencal herbs.
- Then they are placed in an oven at 180 degrees for 5-7 minutes.
- Now they move on to making Caesar sauce. Boil a soft-boiled egg in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes.
- Then add it to a bowl and, using a blender, beat it with mustard, freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. In consistency, the sauce should resemble mayonnaise.
- Anchovy fillet is finely chopped with a knife and added to the sauce. Beat everything again with a blender and pour in the Worcestershire sauce.
- Romano lettuce leaves are washed and placed in cold water for an hour. Then they will be more juicy and crunchy. Then they are dried with paper towels and torn finely by hand into a bowl.
- Add Caesar sauce and mix. Then they spread the croutons, sprinkle with parmesan passed through a grater and decorate with fried shrimps.
- Shrimp salad is served immediately so that the croutons do not have time to get wet.
Fried shrimps with garlic
This dish will be a great snack for beer or wine. Its aroma will impress even the most fastidious gourmet. It is high in calories, so it can neutralize the toxic effects of alcohol on the body.
Ingredients:
- Large tiger prawns - 500 g
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Lemon - 1/2 pc.
- Dill - 1 bunch
- Parsley - 1 bunch
- Butter - 50 g
- Table salt - to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- Soy sauce to taste
Step by step cooking of fried shrimp with garlic:
- The shrimp are thawed at room temperature and then dried with paper towels.
- The shell is carefully removed.
- The garlic cloves are washed, peeled and pressed through to the seafood.
- Juice is squeezed out of half a lemon and poured into the shrimp.
- Ingredients are salted and pepper at your own discretion. Mix thoroughly.
- Leave them on for half an hour. The shrimp will be soaked in spices and will be juicier.
- Heat a frying pan over low heat and add butter. When it melts, add the seafood.
- Fry the shrimps in a pan for about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Before serving, the dish is poured with soy sauce and crushed with chopped herbs.
Pasta with shrimps in a creamy sauce
An excellent combination of components, exquisite aroma and appetizing appearance of this dish will give you a lot of pleasure. It is often included in the menus of Mediterranean restaurants.
Ingredients:
- Pasta - 250 g
- Shrimp - 200 g
- Cream - 150 ml
- Butter - 20 g
- Onions - 50 g
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Parsley - 20 g
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Step by step preparation of shrimp pasta in creamy sauce:
- Peel the onion and garlic, chop finely and fry in melted butter for a couple of minutes.
- Raw shrimps are peeled and also thrown into the pan. Glove and salt at your own discretion. Fry on both sides for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour the ingredients over into the cream and bring to a boil.
- Parsley is finely chopped, tossed into a frying pan and the gas is turned off.
- Put pasta in boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Then it is combined with shrimps in a creamy sauce, mixed thoroughly and immediately served.
Shrimp Cheese Soup
Cooking this dish will not take much time and effort from you. It will turn out to be nutritious and will acquire a characteristic marine aroma.
Ingredients:
- Sea salt to taste
- Processed cheese - 400 g
- Bulb onions - 1 pc.
- Dill - 30 g
- Shrimp - 200 g
- Potatoes - 200 g
- Carrots - 100 g
- Sunflower oil - 40 ml
- Saffron - to taste
- Parsley - 30 g
Step by step preparation of shrimp cheese soup:
- Pour 2 liters of filtered water into a saucepan and add processed cheese.
- Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop them into small cubes. When the cheese dissolves, they throw in the potatoes.
- Salt the broth at your discretion, add saffron.
- Peel and cut onions and carrots into small pieces.
- Vegetables are thrown into a skillet and fried until golden brown.
- Add shrimp and fried vegetables to the pot when the potatoes are tender.
- After boiling, chopped parsley and dill are added to the soup.
- Stir the ingredients and remove the dish from the stove. Let it steep for about half an hour, and you can serve it to the table.
Grilled shrimp
Below is a delicious shrimp recipe that can capture your breath with its delicious flavor. They are easy to make at a picnic.
Ingredients:
- King prawns (raw) - 500 g
- Soy sauce - 50 ml
- Lime - 2 pcs.
- Honey - 2 tsp
- Grated ginger - 2 tsp
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Olive oil - 150 ml
How to prepare grilled shrimp step by step:
- The shrimp are thawed at room temperature.
- Limes are washed and passed through a juicer.
- Peel the garlic cloves and chop finely.
- In a bowl, grated ginger, honey, lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil and garlic are combined.
- Mix the components thoroughly.
- Again they return to shrimp. They are washed, the head and shell are removed, and the entrails are removed.
- Seafood is salted and pepper at its own discretion. Let it brew for 15 minutes.
- After that, the shrimp are soaked in the marinade and placed on the grill rack.
- Hold for several minutes on each side and immediately serve.
Steamed shrimp
In this recipe, you will learn how to steam shrimp with a minimum of effort. This dish is very healthy and can be used even for bowel diseases.
Ingredients:
- King prawns - 16-20 pcs.
- Filtered water - 1 l
- Table salt - 3 tablespoons
- Quail egg - 1 pc.
- Mustard - 1 tsp
- Paprika - 1/2 tsp
- Olive oil - 100 ml
- Basil - a few twigs
- Garlic - 2-3 cloves
- Wine vinegar - 1 tablespoon
Steaming shrimp step by step:
- Frozen seafood is placed in a refrigerator a day before cooking.
- All the liquid that will leak out will still come in handy, so do not rush to pour it out.
- Shrimp get rid of entrails and head. The carapace is left to keep the meat juicy.
- In filtered water, dilute the remaining liquid from the shrimp and a pinch of table salt. Shrimp is added there after 5 minutes. This brine will create a rich flavor.
- After half an hour, the shrimp are removed and washed under running water.
- During this period of time, you can start making mayonnaise.
- A quail egg, paprika and mustard are combined in a container. Beat with a whisk and gradually pour in the olive oil. Do not stop whisking the mixture.
- After that, garlic cloves, basil sprigs and table salt are ground in a mortar.
- The resulting paste, together with wine vinegar, is added to mayonnaise and stirred until a homogeneous emulsion is made.
- Then the shrimp is placed in a double boiler, and the brine is poured into a saucepan, put on fire and brought to a boil.
- After 5-6 minutes, the shrimp will be ready. They are served with homemade mayonnaise.
Shrimp in the oven
The seafood gets a delicious crispy crust and is perfectly baked inside.
Ingredients:
- Tiger prawns (unpeeled) - 450 g
- Ghee butter - 3 tablespoons
- Table salt - 1/2 tsp
- Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
Cooking shrimp in the oven step by step:
- The oven is heated to 230 degrees, and the baking sheet is wiped with a non-stick baking spray.
- Intestinal veins are removed from the shrimp and the head is removed, but the shell is left, because with it the meat will retain its juiciness.
- The seafood is washed in a colander under running water.
- Then the shrimp is distributed on a baking sheet. It is advisable to do this in one layer so that the meat is evenly baked.
- After that, the shrimps are poured with melted butter, sprinkled with table salt, garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper.
- The shrimp can be stirred with a wooden spatula to absorb the spices.
- Then they are covered with a sheet of foil and baked until they turn pink. After 5 minutes, turn the shrimp over to the other side.
- The excess liquid is drained from the baking sheet. Ready-made shrimps are served on a serving platter.
How to serve shrimp?
According to the haute cuisine rules, shrimp is served along with napkins and a bowl filled with water. Add a couple of drops of lemon juice to it. Thanks to it, you can rinse your hands after eating, and they will not smell the characteristic sea smell. Moreover, this water has a disinfecting effect.
Also, there should be a plate for shells and heads nearby if the shrimp were not peeled before cooking. But sometimes the tip of the tail is left for decorative serving. It is usually taken to dip the meat in the sauce.
Note! If a seafood cocktail is served on the table, then a dessert fork must be placed under it.
When shrimp is served as an independent dish, it is customary to eat them with a fork and knife. Rice will go well with them. The taste will also emphasize cauliflower, peas, asparagus and spinach.
If the shrimp were grilled, then serve immediately. But before that, it is advisable to decorate them with chopped vegetables and put mussels next to them.
Video recipes for shrimp dishes
In our article, you learned how to cook shrimp and how you can protect yourself from purchasing low-quality seafood. Follow these simple tips and enjoy a delicious meal to the fullest.
