Shrimp as food

Preparing shrimp for consumption usually involves removing the head, shell, tail, and “sand vein”. To de-shell a shrimp, the tail is held while gently removing the shell around the body. The tail can be detached completely at this point, or left attached for presentation purposes.

Removing the vein (a euphemism for the digestive tract) can be referred to as “deveining”, though in fact shrimp do not have any real veins; they have an open circulatory system.

The vein can be removed by making a shallow cut lengthwise down the outer curve of the shrimp’s body, allowing the dark ribbon-like digestive tract to be removed with a pointed utensil. Alternatively, if the tail has been detached, the vein can be pinched at the tail end and pulled out completely with the fingers.

The shrimp is then rinsed under cold running water.

Shrimp and prawns are versatile ingredients, and are often used as an accompaniment to fried rice. Common methods of preparation include baking, boiling, and frying.

Recipes using shrimp form part of the cuisine of many cultures. Strictly speaking, dishes containing scampi should be made from the Norway lobster, a shrimp-like crustacean more closely related to the lobster than shrimp, but in some places it is quite common for large shrimp to be used instead.

Wet shrimp is commonly used as a flavoring and as a soup base in Asian cuisines (such as Thai tom yum goong) while fried shrimp is popular in North America. In Europe, shrimp is very popular, forming a necessary ingredient in Spanish paella de marisco, Italian cacciucco, Portuguese caldeirada and many other seafood dishes.

Shrimp curry is very popular in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Shrimp are also found in Latin and Caribbean dishes such as enchiladas and coconut shrimp. Other recipes include jambalaya, okonomiyaki, poon choi and bagoong. (Source: Wikipedia)