Here comes a really simply but sweet boiled shrimp. Boiled shrimp is the main character today. In fact this dish should be named as boiled shrimp in salted water. And there is another famous way of boiling shrimps in Guangdong Cuisine, white boiled shrimp.
Shrimp meat has a slight and sweet taste. Via boiling in water with salt, scallions, star anise, ginger and cassia bark, the shrimp get a coat taste, which further create the layers of the dish.
This boiled shrimp with salted water is quite popular in China and really easy to prepare.
Firstly we need to make the salted water.
Prepare 1 tablespoon of salt, one scallion, several star anise, and two pieces of cassia back and slices of root ginger. I also add some Sichuan peppercorn in but you can skip it if that’s not available.
Pour enough water in a wok and all the seasonings in. Bring all the content to a boiling and simmer for around 15 minutes. Then scoop one bowl out of the wok, cool down and add some ice cubes to make ice water.
In order to save time, you can treat shrimps during this period.
Then get the shrimp in the wok. Turn up the fire and stop the process until you see the water becomes to boil again.
Move the shrimps out and soak in the ice water prepared before for around 10 minutes.
Then serve with any dips. I make two dips, one is laoganma chili sauce and the other one is pure light soy sauce.
Important tips:
You can soak the shrimp in cold waters but I strong recommend you scoop some of the salted water out for the soaking ice water.
Shrimps should be added firstly and then turn up the fire. Otherwise, the sudden high temperature will spoil the tender taste.
If you decide to serve with dips, 1 tablespoon salt is enough. However if no dips is planned, double the amount.
- 250 g fresh shrimps
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili oil
- 1 scallion
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
- 4 ~6 star anise
- 2 pieces of cassia bark
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- 2 L water
-
Prepare a wok or pot. Add water and other ingredients for the salted water in. Bring all the content to a boiling until the salt is melt. Simmer for around 15 minutes.
-
Treat and clear the shrimps.
-
When the salted water is already, scoop some out in a large bowl (around half) and add ice cubes in to make the soaking water.
-
Put the shrimp in the wok. Cook until the content just begins to boil or the skin of shrimps turns into pink.
-
Soak the boiled shrimps in the soaking water in the large bowl. Put aside for around 10~15 minutes.
-
Plate and serve.
Look delicious!
Pre-boiled shrimp is pretty common for sale here in Australia, but I often find them lacking in flavour. Next time I can get my hands in green prawns, I’ll definitely try this recipe and see if boiling them in the flavoured salted water helps retain the prawns’ natural sweetness. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Melissa,
In fact, I found the same problem. So I soaked the shrimp in salted water with seasonings rather than common cold water.
Hope it works good for you.