Shrimp Sushi
If you’re allergic to shrimp, I feel bad for you. I hope they find a cure soon. Shrimp sushi is an unique food where it’s acceptable to serve it both raw and cooked. Most of the shrimps we eat in restaurants are cooked imported farm raised Pacific White shrimps.
However, many sushi restaurants on the west coast often serve Sweet Shrimp as raw but the heads are floured and fried. In the video below, you’ll see that I utilized both the tail and head. I recommend using 21/25 size shrimps (meaning there are between 21 to 25 shrimps in a pound). This size is perfect for one bite, but if you’re into big things, than bump it up to a U-10 (under 10 shrimps in a pound).
The Most Important Step
You must skew the shrimp before cooking so they will be straight after they’re cooked. I prefer to skew them just above the swimmerets with 6″ bamboo skewers. Don’t skew them directly in the center or else you’ll jam the dark vein into the meat and it’ll be a pain to remove later. And most importantly, do not overcook them. Once your water is boiling, drop them in and cover for 2 to 2.5 mins, then immediately chill in an ice bath or cold water. I can’t stress enough how important it is to not over cook shellfish. If you over cooked shrimp, the meat will shrink and you’ll see a gap between the shell and meat.
Don’t Forget the Heads are Edible
Sweet Shrimps are served in many sushi bars. These are bright red shrimps from the Pacific and are excellent raw. Any many chefs will deep fry the head and serve it separately. It’s delicious. Think of it as shrimp chips. The same can be done to all varieties of shrimps.
Why Cook with Live Shrimp
In my opinion, using live shrimp is truly the best way to enjoy the essence of how awesome shrimp really taste. Finding live shrimp in the states is a challenge. Most of the products you see in your grocery stores were previously frozen and farmed raised from southeast Asia. However, there have been several aquaculture facilities that have popped up over the years in the US. Mostly driven by the Asian demographic, live shrimp are becoming more common with oriental supermarkets. These farmed shrimps are the Pacific White Shrimps (Penaeus Vannamei) and are an excellent substitute to wild stocks. Learn more about US produced shrimps here.
Shrimp, like many other crustaceans, loses its optimum flavor peak once it dies. To maximize this, the sooner you cook it, the better. The texture of freshly cooked live shrimp is very distinguishable from its frozen counterpart. The meat has a nature crunch and it’s sweeter. In fact, in many parts of Asia, shrimp is often sold alive in tanks and cooked on the same day as it was purchased.
Sweet Shrimps are served in many sushi bars. These are bright red shrimps from the Pacific and are excellent raw. Any many chefs will deep fry the head and serve it separately. It’s delicious. Think of it as shrimp chips. The same can be done to all varieties of shrimps.
If you live in the Southeast, I urge you to learn how to catch wild shrimp, the real organic stuff. In Florida, most of the ones I’ve caught are Pink shrimps. You can dip them along passes or net them in the flats at night during low tide. The ones below were dipped in Tampa Bay.
Shrimping in Florida
These were jumbo shrimps that I netted from Tampa Bay (Skyway Pier). Some of them were longer than my hand! There’s nothing like eating fresh wild caught shrimp. I encourage you to go out and try them. As a matter of fact, shrimping is a popular sport on the east coast of Florida, especially around St. Johns River and Indian River. There’s even a strong Facebook Group following with members helping each other out. Check them out at Florida Shrimping Academy.
Learn how to Make Lobster Sushi Roll.
Watch Video Below!