水晶虾仁 Cyrstal Shrimp

Pinyin: Shuǐ Jīng Xiā Rén

Generally speaking the words prawn and shrimp can be used interchangeably.  More recently though, prawns have come to refer to fresh water species and shrimp refer to salt water species.  Currently, China and Thailand produce over 75% of the worlds farmed prawn and shrimp supply.   In 2003, 280,000 tons of fresh water prawns and 1.6 million tons of salt water shrimp were farmed.

Shrimp farming has been going on for hundreds of years, but industrial shrimp farming originated in Japan in the 1930s, while large scale commercial farming didn’t start until the 1960s and 1970s.  Shrimp farms are generally located along coastlines in tropical and sub-tropical climates, and over 50 countries are currently farming shrimp.

Shrimp farms can be divided into three areas based upon the life cycle of the shrimp.  The first is the hatcheries which are used for breeding and producing postlarvae.  Once the shrimp reach the postlarvae stage they are transferred to the nurseries where the shrimp grow into juveniles.  Finally the shrimp are transferred to the growout ponds where they reach full maturity in three to six months.

Modern shrimp farming can be ecologically devastating to the local ecosystem if proper care isn’t taken.  Overfeeding and shrimp waste build up and release chemicals and antibiotics into the environment.  The saltwater growout ponds can leach into surrounding soil, destroying valuable farmland. The close quarters that the shrimp are bred in means that diseases can flourish and evolve rapidly creating potentially devastating conditions for the native species.

The dish featured today likely involved shrimp farmed right here in Shanghai.

The shrimp are cooked with a cornstarch sauce that gives them their shine.   The cornstarch sauce includes a bit of cooking wine for flavor and is thin enough that the shrimp don’t taste like cornstarch. The shrimp can be dipped in vinegar to add a dash of spice. The flavors from the cooking wine are very mild, while the real focus in this dish is on the simple taste of the shrimp.

The meaty texture of the shrimp and the bold white color is achieved by repeatedly mixing the shrimp with salt and then rinsing in cold water.  The Crystal Shrimp recipe on Bakespace is fairly traditional and the shrimp are rinsed several times. The recipe on Epicurious also calls for rinsing the shrimp, but that is basically where the similarities end.

This dish is something I treat myself to on occasions when I’ve done something worthy of a nice meal.  Think of ordering this dish the next time you are out with someone you want to impress.  Alternatively, fire up the kitchen and try making this dish at home.  It’s a solid dish that is special enough to form the center of the meal.  Try it, enjoy it, you won’t be disappointed.