Strange Foods – Drunken Shrimp
Strange Foods – Drunken Shrimp
Have you ever eaten Drunken Shrimp in an authentic Chinese restaurant in the United States? If so, please answer these two questions:
Were the shrimp drunk? Were the shrimp alive?
“What is this?” you may be asking. "Is this a trick question?"
No trick. If the dish you were served was Drunken Shrimp – which many folks consider very tasty – then the shrimp were drunk … and the shrimp were dead.
The Ultimate Shrimp Book of Recipes
But In parts of China, the Drunken Shrimp you are served are first immersed in a strong liquor, and then are served to you ALIVE!
The shrimp may be drunk but they still wriggle and even jump occasionally … which is genuinely unnerving.
This charming dish known as ‘qiang xia’ consists of about 22 to 25 shrimp that are very drunk and very much alive.
They are soaked in ‘baijiu’ (Chinese white liquor) for a few minutes until drunk as a skunk. Oops! I mean drunk as a shrimp.
Now the besotted shrimp after that drunken spree are very thirsty. So you may decide to marinate them in one of several sauces you can choose: sweet, sour, spicy or salty.
The thirsty shrimp thoroughly absorb the flavor of whichever sauce you choose.
These lively, inebriated shrimp are usually served in a large glass bowl with a glass top for two reasons:
• to allow you to watch their drunken antics while you are eating;
• to keep them from jumping into your lap.
Some Chinese believe that this dish may act as an aphrodisiac. I can’t vouch for that claim but it does seem to excite the shrimp. (laughing)
Hint: Don’t forget to break off the shrimp heads before eating. Here are two videos of genuine, live drunken shrimp being served and eaten in China.
CAUTION: If you watch these videos before dinner … you may lose your appetite.
If you watch them after dinner … you may lose your dinner.
Just wanted you to know.
How to Eat Drunken Shrimp
How to Eat Drunken Prawns
Prawn definition
• A large shrimp.
Shrimp Definitions
• Any of many swimming, often edible crustaceans, chiefly of the infraorder, Caridea, or the suborder, Dendrobranchiata, with slender legs, long whiskers and a long abdomen …
• The flesh of such crustaceans …
• The derogatory slang term for a person who is small in stature.
Bon Appetit!
Quote from Bubba in the film, “Forrest Gump”:
‘Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.’
© Copyright BJ Rakow, Ph.D. 2015. All rights reserved. Author, "Much of What You Know about Job Search Just Ain't So."