Shrimp.... PERFECTION!

Well, while the "perfection" portion of the title may be a bit.... over zealous.... I think it's pretty darned tasty. Since this is a 2 parter, this will be a longer blog post as I made 2 dishes out of shrimp.

First! I made a Tempura batter. This is the same type of batter that Long John Silver's uses (not EXACTLY, but the type of batter is the same). Flour, an egg, and some milk. I put the flour, egg, and milk into a zip top bag and mix it with a fork. I highly love the idea of single dish, and low maintenance dishes, so less cleanup = greatness!

Here is our victim: the versatile, and delicate shrimp! Now, the ones I got were raw (ewwww) and with the shell on. It's incredibly easy to shell the shrimp. Just lift the carapace on one side over to the other, and work your way down the body. Easy peasy!

Deliciousness, in a small package!

Now, you may have a hard time seeing the peeled shrimp in the batter, but I assure you, inside of this baggy is some cajun seasoning, and the tempura batter. This batter is versitle in many ways. You can put chicken, fish, and just about anything in it and let it sit (1 hour minimum recommended) and it's ready to go! The egg helps the batter bind to the shrimp/chicken/fish ect. I leave my batter to work for about 4 hours usually unless I'm in a hurry. If you just make the batter and dunk it in, usually the batter will separate and not be good Noms.

Once the time has expired, place the shrimp in a pan of shallow oil. I prefer to use a mix of veggie oil, and olive oil. The olive oil helps keep the dish a bit on the healthier side, while the veggie oil helps keep the smoke point higher so the oil doesn't turn your shrimp into nasty blackened tastelessness. 

COOK YOU SHRIMPS!

Ohhhhh yeah, Noms bubbling away!

The finished product should be GBD (golden brown and delicious)! Shrimp cook really fast so prolonged exposure to high heat makes them chewy. As soon as the batter starts to turn golden, flip, wait 2 minutes, and remove. 

Ta DAAAAAH!

Now, the remaining shrimp!

The remaining shrimp, I decided to put in a pan with some Cajun seasoning, garlic, and about 1tbsp of olive oil.

SIZZLE MY PRETTIES!

The shrimp will be a gray color (if raw) before cooking. Once it starts to cook, it will rapidly turn to a reddish-orange color in about 90 seconds. Once this happens, flip to the other side, cook for another 90 seconds, and done! Here's the shrimp dishes side by side:

Sautee'd on left, pan fried on right.

Shrimp isn't hard to cook, it's just the timing that is hard. Shrimp cooks fast, if you're adding it into a dish, add it last. In soups, 2 minutes tops usually. Once the whole Shrimp goes orange, it's done. 

Tempura:

1/3 Lb of shelled and de-veined Shrimp

1 cup Flour

1 Egg

3/4 cup Milk

1 tbsp Cajun Seasoning

Mix in a zip top bag. The consistency should be like pancake batter. 

Sauté:

1/3 lb shelled and de-veined Shrimp

2 minced cloves of Garlic

1 tsp Cajun Seasoning