Boiled Shrimp (Pasayan) Recipe

There are many ways of cooking shrimp and this is my version in terms of simplest way boiling the shrimp. Shrimp can be cooked in a variety of way: boiled, steamed, grilled, sautéed, baked, or deep-fried. They can also be cooked with or without the shell, with the vein or deveined.

Boiling Method: This is probably the most common method of cooking shrimp, particularly the smaller types.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of fresh shrimp
• 3 tbsp salt
• 3 pieces of ginger

Cooking Procedure:

1. Wash and deveining shrimp by using toothpick or knife. Let it drain.
2. In a large casserole boil water about 4 cups  or make water into half in the casserole.
3. Place a pound of shrimp in a quart of rapidly boiling water with (3) three tablespoons of salt with ginger.
4. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and return to a boil. Let simmer until the flesh has lost its glossy appearance and is opaque in center (cut to test).
5. Drain it arrange it in the platter.

Cooking Tips:

• Shrimp should always be cooked quickly in order to preserve their sweet, delicate flavors. They are very quick to cook, and the flavor can easily be ruined by overcooking. Most shrimp cook in as little as 3 minutes – when they’re pink, they are done.
• Deveining Shrimp : The black “vein” along the back of a shrimp is actually its digestive tract. You can eat this part, but many cooks choose to remove it so that the dish would look more appealing.

1. To begin, hold the shrimp in one hand with the tail end facing you and the curved side up.
2. Take a small paring knife or deveining tool and make a shallow cut down the curved back of the shrimp. This will expose the digestive tract, or “vein.”
3. To remove the vein, you can either use a toothpick, a knife tip, or run the shrimp under cold water and remove it with your finger.

• Jumbo shrimp take about 7 to 8 minutes, large shrimp take about 5 to 7 minutes, and medium size are done in about 3 to 4 minutes.
• If your shrimp are to be used in a recipe and not eaten right away after cooking (such as grilling), they should be plunged into cold water to stop the cooking process. (Do not let them cool in the cooking liquid. They will continue to cook and get tough)