How to cook shrimp

There are some ingredients which are so amazing, that actually you don’t need to do much to have a wonderful dish. In fact, with some ingredients, the more natural the better. Shrimp is just one of those ingredients – best to be kept as natural and simple as possible. It doesn't take much for a shrimp to taste absolutely divine.

Personally, I’m a big fan of shrimp, not only you can have amazing dishes with shrimp, but usually it’s also extremely easy and quick to cook and the fact is that most people just love shrimp. It’s also the sort of ingredient you can use in all sorts of recipes, I mean, you can serve it alone as a starter, you can serve it as an entrée, you can grill it, boil it, stew it, add it to rice, beans, you name it, it goes well with everything and it’s also something that looks good if you are having friends over.

Shrimp is a great source of protein, as well as an amino acid that actually helps maintain sleep patterns and stabilize our mood. It is full of vitamin D and B12, which helps our heart and, of course, is full of those wonderful fatty acids we all hear about today, omega-3, which work wonders to our cholesterol, raising the good kind and lowering the bad kind.

Apart from this it's also a source for such mineral as selenium, which helps us with our immunity, thyroid function or even iron and zinc.

The other important fact is that you get all this vitamins, minerals and protein and from something which has low calories - well, it always depends on how you cook it. But in fact, your average size shrimp, if boiled, has 6 calories.

Fresh shrimp is extremely perishable and must be eaten within 24 hours, it's also not that easy to find, but frozen shrimp does the trick.

When you buy frozen shrimp, never buy those without the shell, since the shell and the head is what gives the real flavour.

To unfreeze shrimp put it in the freezer or in cold water. It is not advisable to unfreeze shrimp at rrom temperature or hot water.

The vein of the shrimp doesn't need to be taken out, although in larger shrimps it's advisable, since it may add a strange taste to the shrimp. In small shrimps it's barely noticeable. If you prefer to de-vein the shrimp, you need to do it before cooking. Just run the tip of a knife down the back of the shrimp, removing the vein.

Be careful not to overcook shrimp, since it is very quick to cook and overcooking it ruins the flavour and the texture.

Now, I don't actually know of anyone who doesn't like shrimp, but I know of people who are allergic to shrimp, to those the best is to not come close to it, because although it's delicious, it's not worth the risk, since the reaction to such allergy can range from skin rash to an anaphylactic reaction.

One of the most delicious recipes for shrimp is actually the easiest one: boiling shrimp. There is nothing to it, it's quick, easy and delicious. You just have to mind a few details.

Instructions:

Fill a medium size saucepan with water and add plenty of salt and a red chili pepper and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling add the shrimps (medium size shrimps) and let it boil for another 5 minutes. Once the time has gone by, immediately remove the shrimps from the water and run them through ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Afterwards put them in the freezer for at least half an hour before serving.

Make sure you remove them from the water once the 5 minutes have gone by, as well as run them through cold water and put them in the freezer. These will make the difference between great shrimp and uneatable shrimp.

I can't claim this recipe is terribly healthy, since you need only realize it has butter to know better, but the fact is it's delicious and again simple and quick and it makes for an amazing starter. So here it goes.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of butter

- 6 garlic cloves, minced;

- 1 red chili pepper;

- A pinch of salt ( remember the butter is already salted );

- 1.1 pounds / 500 grs. of medium sized shrimp;

- Whiskey (optional);

- Fresh coriander, chopped;

- Lime juice.

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a medium size pan and add the minced garlic, cooking it until it turns golden brown. Add the red chili pepper - if you want is hotter don't forget to mince it. Sauté the shrimps and once they turn pink, it's ready to serve, so just add the chopped coriander on top and pour some lime juice.

If you'd like you can also flambe the shrimps with a bit of whiskey when they turn pink, just to add a bit more of flavour.

This is one of my favourite recipes, it's sort of a comfort food recipe, but still with that sense of freshness you get from the coriander and the shrimps together. It's great for when you have people over and you don't have a lot of time on your hands, but still want to impress.

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© Copyright Oct 12 2012 / Algarveview.hubpages.com. To use part or the whole article you must first get written permission from the author. Feel free, nonetheless, to use an intro of the hub with a link to the article here on hubpages for the rest of the article.