Shrimp/prawn starters: In a glass or on a plate? Any good recipes?

Although I'm usually labelled "vegetarian" by others, I do like a weekly dive into seafood.
A lot of seafood has disappeared from our menus since my youth (along with dwindling fish stocks), but shrimps and prawns are certainly for sale.
I wonder what the exact difference between shrimps and prawns is, except for the size. Are they different species, or are shrimps baby prawns?

Anyway, I loved the traditional shrimp cocktail with the pinkish sauce in a glass.
Today I got de-shelled prawns on a plate, and they were big and squishy to the bite.
They tasted like nothing, and the sauce wouldn't stick to them.
For a moment I felt like an anthropologist in New Guinea, chomping on those sago grubs.
Even worse, it was warm.
Apparently that's the new variation on the dish.

Is this a global trend?
Do people elsewhere still enjoy the shrimps spooned out of a glass with lashings of seafood sauce?
It sounds simple, but done wrong it can actually be quite repulsive.

Love making it here, but can anybody give a winning recipe?

I don't have any recipes, but I would try to stay away from gulf coast shrimp.

reply to post by halfoldman


I like to go the scampi route. A smashed clove of garlic sauteed in a couple of tablespoons of butter and then add in about half a cup of good white wine. Add the seafood in and toss until opaque and for kick you can even top it with some red pepper flakes.

Add some mustard will make it better.

Here is an alternative shrimp recipe.... Garlic Scampi (low fat recipe)

3 tablespoons chicken broth, defatted
2 tablespoons white wine, dry sherry or nonalcoholic white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 lemons cut into wedges

In a large shallow dish, stir together the broth, wine or sherry, olive oil, salt, oregano, pepper and garlic. Add the shrimp and turn them to coat them well. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (do not marinate for longer than 2 hours or shrimp will become tough.)

Preheat the broiler. Remove the shrimp from the dish, reserving the marinade. Thread the shrimp onto skewers, leaving a small space between each. Brush the shrimp with the reserved marinade. Broil 4" from the heat for 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over, brush with the marinade and broil for 1 to 3 minuyes more or until the shrimp are no longer pink. Serve with the lemon wedges. (makes 4 servings)

Calories per serving 223

How bout marinated in Corexit and drizzeled with crude?
LOL! Sorry, couldn't resist. I just have no taste for shrimp
these days. Don't trust it.

reply to post by STL0913

I assume most of our prawns and shrimps come from Asia where they are farmed.
I recall reading that the rivers in those countries are not exactly clean or pollutant free, and while small-scale shrimp/prawn farming was once green, it now seriously impacts the environment.
Not sure about all that, I suppose even soya ain't green.
It's my little pleasure.

We once had a huge variety of fish and seafood.
Now the restaurants import Vietnamese catfish and there are serious health concerns about it, since it comes from mercury polluted rivers in Asia.
They disguise it under creative names like "Basa", or "Nile Basa", or even "perch".
Even worse is that it's not kosher, and a bottom-feeder, and a lot of people don't know what they're eating.

Originally posted by caladonea
Here is an alternative shrimp recipe.... Garlic Scampi (low fat recipe)

3 tablespoons chicken broth, defatted
2 tablespoons white wine, dry sherry or nonalcoholic white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 lemons cut into wedges

In a large shallow dish, stir together the broth, wine or sherry, olive oil, salt, oregano, pepper and garlic. Add the shrimp and turn them to coat them well. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (do not marinate for longer than 2 hours or shrimp will become tough.)

Preheat the broiler. Remove the shrimp from the dish, reserving the marinade. Thread the shrimp onto skewers, leaving a small space between each. Brush the shrimp with the reserved marinade. Broil 4" from the heat for 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over, brush with the marinade and broil for 1 to 3 minuyes more or until the shrimp are no longer pink. Serve with the lemon wedges. (makes 4 servings)

Calories per serving 223

Yummy, that sounds so good!
I suppose a veggie stock could replace the chicken for the "vegetarians".
But jumbo shrimp?
Aren't those prawns?
We only get them in two sizes: shrimp or prawn.
I suppose a smallish prawn.
Yeah that could restore my faith in shrimps/prawns.

I may be prawn again!

Shrimp and prawns are different species. Yes, size does vary as do their claws, gills, body bend, where they are found etc.

You can marinate them for a while, depending on what flavor you like, preferably close in flavor to the sauce offered, if to use it at all.
I like them on a plate with townhouse or long crackers available with sauce on the side. I use some of the already made marinate flavors-bought in store;ex. lemon pepper & spicy mango as well as make my own.

Ex. of how to make your own;

6 lb Shrimp [shelled, cooked and cleaned]
1 cup Olive Oil
¾ cup White vinegar
1 bottle Ketchup [about 2 cups]
½ cup Horseradish
1 tlb Black pepper
1 tlb Oregano
1 tlb Tabasco Sauce
2 lrg Onions [thinly sliced]
3 clove Garlic [minced]
1 tsp 'ACCENT' [Meat tenderizer]

Mix all and marinate 24 to 36 hours.

Source





Tip:No need to try to heat them in the microwave(they will turn to rubber if in to long) Just let them thaw, in the fridge or run under warm water. Also, remove the shell, legs and tail, but sometimes people like the to help them dip.

reply to post by dreamingawake

Sounds divine, wish I started marinating yesterday!

That emoticon was the closest to being hungry.

Despite all the frantic babble, Gordon Ramsey makes a more immediate version here.

A twist on the usual prawn cocktail.
(Just add breasts?)

reply to post by halfoldman

There's something edgy about the dish - it's almost like putting the bugs back on the salad - but not quite.
A lot of black cultures won't touch shrimps or prawns in SA (although some of them love Mopane Worms).

While this lady has a nice recipe, she implies it's a slimming version.
But a squirt of ketchup, and the lowest fat mayonnaise and dressing seems a bit strange.
I'd rather use a low sugar ketchup and a normal squirt of mayo.
Saw on "You are what you eat" that commercial ketchup is quite fattening.

Shrimp vs. prawn: definitions,
en.wikipedia.org...

Biological:

The prawns have sequentially overlapping body segments (segment one covers the segment two, segment two covers segment three, etc), chelate (claw like) first three leg pairs, and have a very basic larval body type. The shrimps also have overlapping segments, however, in a different pattern (segment two overlaps segments one and three), only the first two leg pairs are chelate, and they have a more complex larval form. Biologists distinguish the true shrimp from the true prawn because of the differences in their gill structures. The gill structure is lamellar in shrimp but branching in prawns. The easiest practical way to separate true shrimps from true prawns is to examine the second abdominal segment. The second segment of a shrimp overlaps both the first and the third segment, while the second segment of a prawn overlaps only the third segment.[2]

"True shrimps" and "true prawns"? Are there "untrue" shrimps and prawns?

More frequent difference today: shrimp are freshwater, and prawns are saltwater.

A bloke called Nicko cooks the "perfect" Christmas dinner/lunch starter.
I'm not so sure all countries would approve with shrimps on Christmas, but anyway...interesting:

reply to post by halfoldman

Interesting, but except for the mania of Ramsey, usually in male cooking the camera stays much more focused on the food.
None of Nigella's "food porn".
The commentary is almost like sport commentary, often stating the obvious.
But in the above clip there's that typical line, to paraphrase: "Now we add the Tabasco...you can of course add as much as you like (and he goes ballistic with the hot stuff)".
Never mind the poor person who actually has to eat it on Christmas day!

reply to post by halfoldman


Hi, I have a
real simple garlic prawn receipe.Here it goes.Take about 1/2 kg of prawns as you like.Shell green prawns ,saute with about a tablespoon of butter and about 3 cloves of garlic,add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and about 1/4 cup of cream.Simmer till done.Serve with rice.It`s my receipe so measurements are a bit to taste.I hope you like it.

reply to post by Capricornia

Mmm, sounds yummy,
I guess that could also go as a main meal considering the starch (rice)?
How would you serve it?