The ultimate shrimp book : more than 650 recipes for everyone's favorite seafood prepared in every way imaginable PDF
Preview The ultimate shrimp book : more than 650 recipes for everyone's favorite seafood prepared in every way imaginable
The Ultimate Shrimp Boo k More Than Bruce Weinstein 650 Recipes and Mark Scarbrough for Everyone’s Favorite Seafood Prepared in Every Way Imaginable To David Weinstein and Lisa Aiello and Rick and Catherine Colvin For forgiving impediments to the true mind of marriage when we could only admit them C O N T E N T S v Introduction 1 Shrimp: The Skinny 1 From the Ocean to the Market 2 From the Market to Your Refrigerator 5 From Your Refrigerator to Your Table 6 Using Precooked Shrimp 8 Ingredients and Equipment 18 Shrimp Recipes, A to Z 239 Source Guide 241 Index Acknowledgments About the Author Other Books by Bruce Weinstein Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher MINTRODUCTIONM F ried, steamed, or barbecued? In the end, wandered from one Queens diner to the next, it doesn’t matter, because everyone’s searching for the consummate example of that crazy about shrimp. It’s the world’s most popu- East Coast staple, shrimp scampi. lar fresh seafood. (Only canned tuna surpasses As you may have noticed, The Ultimate these little crustaceans.) U.S. cooks and con- Shrimp Book is part of an ongoing series that sumers ate 963,000,000 pounds in 2000. And includes The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, The to think shrimp was bait a century ago. Ultimate Party Drink Book, and The Ultimate When you bite into a perfectly prepared Candy Book. “Shrimp?” friends asked when we shrimp, its meat sweet and moist, you may started. “How does that fit with the others?” wonder why it deserved all the health-scare Easily. Shrimp is fun food, party food: quick, press it got in the 1990s. While admittedly simple, and satisfying. high in cholesterol, shrimp actually contributes In this book, there are standards you proba- to better ratios between LDL (bad cholesterol) bly haven’t thought of in years, like Shrimp and HDL (good cholesterol). Shrimp also lowers Thermidor and Shrimp à la King. There are triglycerides in the blood. And a quarter-pound also plenty of modern favorites, like Popcorn serving has only 80 calories, with less than 1 Shrimp and Kung Pao Shrimp. And there are gram of fat. some surprising treats, like Black Pepper Over the last year, we’ve been on a quest for Caramel Shrimp, a Vietnamese delicacy. As in the new-and-different and the tried-and-true. all the Ultimate books, these basic recipes are We tasted a stew of shrimp and pastis at a pushed to new heights with variations. Once country hotel in Provence. In Denver, far from you master a basic recipe and some of the vari- either coast, we found an authentic Japanese ations, try making up your own variations. That country restaurant, serving the finest tempura way, shrimp, the ultimate fun food, will be as this side of Kyoto. And one spring night, we fun for you to make as it is to eat. Shrimp: The Skinny I n this chapter, we’ll follow shrimp through Fresh Shrimp Probably Aren’t their culinary life. Along the way, we’ll Almost every shrimp available in North Amer- address a few health concerns, tell you how to ica and Europe, whether wild-caught or “size” shrimp, and offer tests for freshness. farmed, was flash-frozen the moment it was harvested. Unless you live within fifteen min- utes of the ocean, or are fortunate enough to FROM THE OCEAN TO THE MARKET live near a Chinese community where shrimp are sold live from saltwater tanks, never-frozen Ah, the Pleasures of the Sea! shrimp simply aren’t available. They’re fast growing few. The Sea of Japan, Actually, that’s the good news. Flash-freezing once teeming with shrimp, is now almost bar- ensures a shrimp’s freshness—as do certain ren. The mangrove swamps of Malaysia, the chemicals. The FDA permits two additives. habitat for some of the world’s best shrimp, are Sodium tripolyphosphate preserves the mois- being eradicated to satisfy the world’s hunger. ture content of shelled shrimp. Like beef or And industrial contaminants have pushed chicken, shrimp meat dehydrates when it’s Atlantic shrimping as far north as Greenland. exposed to the air. Bathing it in sodium All is not lost. In 1990, there were no tripolyphosphate allows a thin, gelatinous, shrimp farms in the United States. Today, they moisture-sealing coating to form around the constitute a thirty-five-million-dollar industry. meat. But if you’re leery of such chemistry, or They’re sprouting up even faster in Central are on a low-sodium diet, buy shrimp in their and South America, a gold mine for fledgling shells and peel them yourself. economies. Sodium bisulfite, the second additive, elimi- That said, there are still a few pockets in the nates black spot (or melanosis), a natural con- ocean where shrimp are caught wild, where the dition caused by a digestive enzyme that runs harvest is nondestructive. The best lie off the amuck in the meat once the shrimp’s killed. In Baja Peninsula. The white shrimp found there the initial stage, the enzyme causes black dots; are the yardstick against which most farmed in more advanced cases, black rings. Black shrimp are measured. spot is not harmful, just unsavory—and a pretty sure indication that the shrimp has been In Manhattan’s hopping Chinatown, during mishandled during processing. spring and fall, the dim sum parlors are For most of us, sodium bisulfite, like sulfites buzzing every Sunday morning with shrimp and in red wine, presents no problems. But if you’re hot peppers, fresh from the fryer. Each shrimp, allergic to sulfites, you’ll most likely react to it. no more than three inches long, is deep-fried— To get around it, buy organic or nonadditive head, feelers, legs, tail and all. Pure magic, all shrimp (organic is the industry term; nonaddi- crunch. tive the governmental one in the United States If you’re lucky enough to find shrimp with and Canada). To guarantee that your shrimp are their heads on, buy 50% more than the recipe chemical-free, ask to see the box they were calls for (the head accounts for about that packaged in. Your fishmonger should be happy much weight). You can cook them whole, and to let you have a look. your family can snap off the heads and suck out One surefire way to avoid problems is to buy the juices, just as they do with crawfish in New shrimp exactly the way your fishmonger does— Orleans. Or you can snap off the heads before frozen, in 3- or 5-pound boxes. You may find cooking and save them in your freezer to make these in the freezer cases of gourmet supermar- fish stock. kets, or you can ask your fishmonger to sell you one directly. You’ll end up with perfect shrimp, sealed in a double layer of protective ice FROM THE MARKET TO YOUR REFRIGERATOR (called double glazing). If you’re lucky enough to land one of these boxes, they should be Use Your Nose and Eyes thawed for 2 to 3 days in your refrigerator, on a To tell if shrimp are at their peak, just smell lipped baking sheet to catch the runoff. Yes, them (ask your fishmonger to hold up a hand- with 5 pounds, you might have more than you ful). They should have little odor, just a hint of want, but you can always use what you need for the sea, clean and bright. the recipe, then steam the rest (see page 180) A shrimp should not smell like and keep them in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag. Refreezing is the safest way to store Ammonia or rotten eggs: it’s undoubtedly old. shrimp once you’ve cooked them; never Chlorine: Washing shrimp in chlorine to kill refreeze raw shrimp. bacteria is legal, but not acceptable. Gasoline: the harvesting trawler was leaking fuel into its belly. “Off with Their Heads!” Although we North Americans may cry it, we’re the only ones who do. Around the globe, After you’ve smelled the shrimp, look at shrimp heads are a delicacy. them—and beware two ominous colors. Avoid 2 • T H E U L T I M A T E S H R I M P B O O K
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