There is no doubt that Chinese fried shrimp is well known all over the world. The Chinese are renowned for their tasty and delicious shrimp recipes. Also, they way in which they display this fantastic crustacean is just marvelous; both Chinese and Thai traditional cuisine excel in almost “showing off” when presenting their shrimp dishes – or any other seafood dish – Have you ordered squid at a Chinese or Thai restaurant? Just the look will be mouth watering enough and get your stomach juices going.

There is a basic difference between eating in the Chinese style and eating in the West. IN western meals, the dishes are eaten consecutively; a soup following on hors d’oeuvre, then a main dish, followed by a dessert, or a selection of cheeses, winding up with coffee. This is a pattern which does not vary very much for a party meal at home or a mayoral banquet. When it comes to Chinese meals, all the dishes are served in one go – as you have probably seen in many Chinese restaurants – and diners just help themselves to any dish they like accompanying it with rice; which is the answer to bread in Western society.

Deep Fried Jumbo Shrimp

In China, giant shrimp is very abundant along the North coastline. In England they are often called Pacific prawns and often measure between 3 and 4 inches in length. A way of preparing the shrimp is to deep fry it in the form of Phoenix Tail Prawns (shrimp), which the British particularly like and which are very convenient to handle.

500g giant Pacific prawns or shrimp

1 slice root ginger, finely chopped

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp self-raising flour

1 egg

6 tbsp water

½ tsp salt

Clean shrimp thoroughly and scrape away any dark gritty material. Shell them but leave the tail firmly on and unshelled (to use as a handle).

Beat the egg for around fifteen seconds. Fold in the salt, flour, ginger and water. Beat for another thirty seconds into a light batter.

Dip each of the shrimp into the batter holding onto its tail, and then lower it into a pan of boiling oil. Fry three or four shrimp at a time in this way for around two minutes, Remove them with a perforated spoon and drain. Repeat until a dozen shrimp have been fried. If a proper deep-fryer is used, a dozen shrimp can be fried at the same time in a wire basket. Drain them thoroughly on absorbent paper. Arrange them neatly in a pattern on a well-heated plate and serve. It is important that they are eaten with the correct table dips, namely, salt and pepper mix, or a nice soya tomato dip.

Chinese fried shrimp is really succulent as the juices are preserved underneath the tasty layer of batter.
Photo by lockstockb **Cortesy of sxc.hu

Today we are going to look at one of the most delicious ways of cooking shrimp: the famous grilled shrimp recipe. Everyone wants to grill this crustacean to perfection, and, while it is not exactly difficult, it is one of those recipes that need practice to achieve perfection. Also, it is a fantastic low cal shrimp recipes.

Grilling shrimp is all about technique and, of course, adoration of this creature. Cooking this crustacean calls for the love of its wonderful flavor and peculiar look. The simplicity of grilling it is quite well known, but we need passion in order to deliver quality in terms of best flavor and texture.

We are going to look at the basic recipe and then a variation adding garlic, parsley and olive oil. It is recommended that you buy 25 – 30 fresh jumbo shrimp – in the shell -. It will serve around 4 people.

Tasty sauces will go well with the grilled shrimp. Seafood sauce is perfect with it; you can make your own by mixing mayonnaise and ketchup. I also add 1 tbsp fresh orange juice, a few drops of Tabasco, and a few drops of Worcester Sauce.

Grilling is all about flavor, so outdoor charcoal grills are the perfect choice for your shrimp, fish and most meats.

Basic Grilled Shrimp

Plenty of olive oil

Salt and pepper

3 lemons (halved)

Preheat the grill. Devein the shrimp and wash well. Place them on the grill, rub with the olive oil and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Cook each side for one or two minutes until they turn pink. Do not overcook as the shrimp will turn rubbery and hard. Finally, place the lemons (in halves) on the grill so the juice seasons the seafood nicely. Remove and serve while still hot. They are also delicious cold.

With Garlic and Parsley

4 cloves of garlic

Chopped parsley

The juice of 1 lemon

Lug of olive oil

Salt and Pepper

A few lemon slices

Preheat the grill. Chop the garlic in tiny squares (brounoisse). In a pan, put the olive oil over low heat and add the garlic. When the garlic turns light brown, we remove it from the pan and add the chopped parsley and lemon juice, stirring until the ingredients are mixed together. Remove and set on the side. Place the shrimp on the grill and cook until turning pink (1 or 2 minutes each side). Remove and serve on the plate, accompanied with the lemon slices and pour the parsley, olive oil and garlic mixture on the side for dipping.

Tip: For perfect shrimp without having to use oil, place a “bed” of rock salt in a pan and then lay the shrimp on top. It will not burn and the seasoning will be perfect.

Grilled shrimp with lemon, parsley, garlic and olive oil

Out of the shrimp recipes in this site, this is probably one of the lightest ones. Check it out!

Ingredients

16-20 jumbo shrimp or large shrimp16

20 lean rasher streaky bacon, derinded 60 g butter

finely grated rind of 1 lime

2 garlic cloves, crushed

For the cilantro and soured cream sauce:

150ml soured cream
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red chili, deseeded and chopped very finely
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
2 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and chopped finely
1-2 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper

To garnish:

fresh coriander (cilantro)

lime wedges

Remove the heads and shells from the shrimp but leave the tails in place. Remove the black vein which runs down the length of the shrimp if desired but it is not essential (as stated in know about shrimp)

Wrap a rasher of bacon around each shrimp, securing with a piece of wooden cocktain stick. Place on a foil-lined grill pan.

Melt the butter and mix in half the grated lime ring and the garlic. Use to brush over the bacon-wrapped shrimp.

To make the sauce, put the soured cream into a bowl and mix in the garlic, chili, coriander (cilantro), spring onions (scallions), remaining grated lime rind, seasoning and finally lime juice to taste, which will thicken up the sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Cook the shrimp under a preheated grill for about 2 minutes on each side, or until the bacon is lightly browned and the shrimp are hot. Be careful when removing the tray. Remove and discard the wooden cocktail sticks.

Serve the shrimp on a large plate or four individual plates, together with the soured cream sauce and a garnish of fresh coriander (cilantro) and lime wedges.

This shrimp recipe is fantastic as an appetizer or if you are throwing a party. It is very light and your guests will absolutely adore it. You cannot really offer shrimp recipes without a good bottle of white wine. Always chill your wine before serving, as white one is not tasty when at room temperature. If your choice is red wine, make sure you serve this shrimp recipe with a main meal that consists of red meat (beef, pork or lamb).

Jumbo shrimp are just the best for any shrimp recipe, and they are really tasty when wrapped in bacon, grilled with the garlic and lime butter (yum!) and served with this spicy and tangy soured cream and coriander (cilantro) sauce. Also, don’t forget to make yourself the dessert if you decided to use this shrimp recipe as a starter for a 3 course meal. Why not bake a cake? Nothing beats homemade!

**Tip 1: if you are on a gluten free diet, you can accompany this dish (and the rest of the dishes in this site) with any gluten free bread recipe

**Tip 2: Baking Tins Empire will offer you the right choice of utensils if you decide to bake your own cake