How to clean prawns

Clean Prawn

• Remove the head. Grab the body of the prawn just below where the head joins the first part of the body. Twist the head off.
  
• Remove the main shell. Hold the body firmly and use your thumb grip the legs. “Unwrap” the legs and shell around the body of the prawn, removing one or two of the body sections
  
• Pop the tail. When there are only one or two sections of the prawn left before the tail, you can squeeze the tail section and the rest of the prawn should pop out of the tail section
• De vein the prawn. Check for a vein that will be either clear or dark protruding from where the head was. Straighten the prawn out and slowly ease the vein out after gripping it lightly. If you are having trouble reaching the vein with your fingers, a wooden skewer tip will help you grasp it and remove it.
  

How to check the Freshness of shrimp

• Fresh shrimp.prawn should smell clean, don’t buy shrimp that smells of ammonia.
• If you purchase frozen shrimp, avoid that was peeled and de veined prior to freezing. This may cause loss of flavor and texture.

Prepare Frozen Shrimp/Prawn  for cooking

• “Refresh” frozen shrimp by soaking in salted water.
• The best way to keep shrimp fresh while preparing them is to keep them in ice water. Return the cleaned shrimp to the ice water until you are ready to cook them. remove water from shrimp  before cooking.
• The black vein that runs along the back of shrimp is the digestive tract. Typically, whether veins are in or out, seldom is there a flavor difference unless the vein is large and contains a high volume of grit and digested material. It is always good to remove it prior to cooking.

Storing Shrimp

• Fresh shrimp that has not been cooked will quickly get spoiled. Shrimp should be used within two days of purchase to ensure good taste.
• Store fresh shrimp that is needed for later usage  in the coolest area of the refrigerator, preferably on ice and covered with paper. The paper allows air to circulate around the shrimp.
• Cooked shrimp that is stored in the refrigerator should be eaten within 2-3 days.
• Frozen shrimp will last up to six months in most household freezers.but Shrimp that has been frozen tends to lose texture.
• Once defrosted, shrimp should be kept refrigerated and used within three days.After being defrosted, do not refreeze the shrimp again.

Thanks

Anitha Varghese