How is it Used in Cooking? Put meat, vegetables and gravy into pot and add about 3/4 cup water. Set aside. Add to the water double the amount of salt you would normally use when boiling shrimp for eating. 50 lbs shrimp or whatever amount you have on hand (heads and shells on). You want the shrimps to soak up the water so that no pool of water is left when you scoop out the shrimps. They may also come salted or unsalted, and with or without the heads, shells and tails. Except for screen grabs, stock photos and blockquotes, everything © Connie Veneracion. Remove the shrimp and strain. One is that the food tastes very salty–even harsh–because you need to use lots of salt to preserve the food. Should you just transfer the excess to a covered jar and keep the dried shrimps in the pantry? Replace the cap and return the shrimps to the fridge. Check the recipe to determine if it calls for salted or unsalted dried shrimps, and whether you need the ones with or without heads, tails and shells. How long the dried shrimps stay good for cooking depends on several factors. In many cases, recipes that list dried shrimps among the ingredients also provide instructions on how to prepare and use them. Next, heat up a pot (size will depend on quantity being cooked) with water to boiling. If, however, the dried shrimps are meant to be boiled to make broth, you’ll want the kind with heads, shells and tails. Salted dried shrimps generally last longer but use within a month or two. Boil the shrimp about 10 minutes or until they turn pink and start to float. Connie Veneracion explores Asian food, history and culture, This is one ingredient that illustrates well the saying that “a little goes a long, long way”. Too much excess water that gets thrown out means more flavor is lost. Most of the time, and especially because you only need a small amount of dried shrimps for a dish, you won’t be able to consume everything in the packet that you bought. Take the sack and shake it, even going as far as gently batting the sack on the side of a building or the ground. Next, heat up a pot (size will depend on quantity being cooked) with water to boiling. Recipe Types: All Poultry All Seafood Alligator Appetizers Beef Breads Cake Candy Canning Chicken Classics Cookies Crab Crawfish Deer/Venison Diabetic Dip and Appetizers Duck Fish Health Conscious Nouveau Cajun Pies Pork Shortcuts Shrimp Side Dish Slow Cooker Turkey Vegetables Vegetarian Wild Game. When rehydrating, place the dried shrimps in a bowl and pour just enough warm water to cover. Every three to four hours turn the shrimp rotating their position so that the shrimp dry on both sides. It has been soaked in a salty solution and then dried until it is very hard, much like people used to do over a hundred years ago. You want the shrimps to soak up the water so that no pool of water is left when you scoop out the shrimps. If you’re going to make Chinese XO sauce, for instance, unsalted and shelled shrimps would be ideal. eval(ez_write_tag([[468,60],'realcajunrecipes_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',139,'0','0']));First consult the weatherman and make sure that you will have at least 3 days of sunshine as the shrimp need that time to “cure.”. For soups and braised dishes, you can soak the dried shrimp for a shorter duration (30 mins to 1 hour) because they will loosen up during cooking. This site brought to you by 2 Cajuns born and raised in Acadiana. Have a surface of wood or screen ready and big enough where you can lay the shrimp singly with none of them overlapping or atop of each other. Depending on how humid it gets in your region, molds might be the worst enemy of dried shrimps. Generally night air has a tendency to bring in the moisture and moisture is the enemy of drying/dried shrimp and the friend of bacteria. Have a surface of wood or screen ready and big enough where you can lay the shrimp … The shells and head at this point have turned to a fine gritty powder. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. My Cajun friend uses two saw horses with an old wooden door laid across. Snow Peas, Snap Peas, Sweet Peas, Mangetout and Edamame, Anise (Aniseed) and Star Anise are Different Spices. Because there are so many kinds of dried shrimps in the market, you need to know which one is best for the dish you want to cook. RealCajunRecipes.com is devoted to building the largest and most accurate collection of Cajun recipes handed down from one Cajun cook to another. Step 3. Nine times out of ten, dried shrimps need to be rehydrated. These tiny sun-dried shrimps are so tasty that you only need a few tablespoonfuls to really bring a plain vegetable dish to new heights of excitement. How were they packed? Step 2. By moving the sack around, downwind from you, all of the “grit” blows away into the wind leaving only your dried shrimp. Bring water to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Bacteria need moisture in order to thrive, so without enough “free” water, they cannot grow well in foods that contain salt. Published on January 18, 2017 in Pantry Staples, Seafood, In Fruits, Vegetables and Other Plant-based Food. In the days when there were no refrigerators, people used to cure their meats and fish with salt. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. How Kaffir Lime Leaves and Fruits are Used in Cooking, Fruits, Vegetables and Other Plant-based Food. Directions: Heat 3/4 cup water in pot until almost boiling. Vacuum-packaging lengthens shelf life. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Nine times out of ten, dried shrimps need to be rehydrated. Dried shrimp comes in many sizes. Unopened packs of dried shrimps that have been kept at room temperature lose their freshness faster. At the end of the third day or the next, empty the shrimp into a sack with holes poked in it. Soak briefly to reconstitute. It is used in soups, pastes, sauces and stir fries. Let soak for 5 minutes. Is Annatto the Same as Achiote? Once they get moldy, you have no other choice but to throw them away. In the evening when the sun is going down, cover the shrimp with cloth or burlap and bring inside a shed or building. Repeat for three days. If you’re using the dried shrimp in dumpling filling or meatballs, you’ll need to soak them longer (3 hours to overnight). The length of time they take to reconstitute depends on the size of the shrimp, but it is easy to see when the have plumped up. Keep the jar in the refrigerator. Directions Step 1. They taste different from fresh shrimps; the dried ones have a stronger and more concentrated flavor which some cooks refer to as “umami.”. Just because the shrimps have been dried doesn’t mean they are exempt from spoilage. The best way to store dried shrimps is to transfer them to a jar with a screw-type cap. This liquid can be kept and used for gravies, gumbos and stews. They can be used as a flavoring agent in potato salad. It is known as kung haeng (or is it goong hang?) It's hard to beat a shrimp, egg and okra gumbo. The farther the expiry date, the better. Pour into bag with instant potatoes and knead bag to mix. It preserves foods by lowering the amount of “free” water molecules in foods. It is found in Chinese, Malaysian and Korean cuisines. Next, check the expiry date on the pack of dried shrimps. Dry with a paper towel and add to your stir fry in the last few minutes of cooking. Copyright © 2002-2019 RealCajunRecipes.com. These shrimps can be used in making stews, gravies, piquant sauces and gumbos. However, there are a few problems with using salt to preserve food. In the Philippines, we call it hibe and it is often added to sautéed vegetables to take the place of the more expensive meat. When rehydrating, place the dried shrimps in a bowl and pour just enough warm water to cover. Grind dried shrimp in a food processor. Use dried shrimp in stir fries. If you have abundance, place them in the freezer remembering that moisture can destroy all your hard work. in Thailand and tôm khô in Vietnam. Although they are known by different names, dried shrimp is a cooking ingredient found in many Asian cuisines.