Shrimp are delightful pink morsels that taste fabulous, if done right. Classified as crustaceans, they are found all over the world in both salt and fresh water. There however is a level of confusion between shrimps and prawns as at times they are used interchangeably, depending where in the world you are, although in general prawns are the fresh water variety while the other is believed to be of salt water origins. The definition can also change with regards to size as those of larger size are usually referred to as prawns and those that are smaller are referred to as shrimp.
If you are thinking of a fine dish that includes this type of sea-food you might be interested in how to cook shrimp. Well firstly it is a good idea as the food item under discussion is high on calcium, iodine and protein content. When you are looking at how to cook shrimp, one thing you must focus on at the start itself is how to get the little things cleaned up. This is at times referred to as de-shelling the shrimp and involves the removal of its head, tail and outer shell. This is usually done by holding the head and removing the outer shell right up to the tail. Some prefer to keep the tail for presentation purposes but whether you keep the tail or remove it may also depend on the type of dish you are looking at preparing. When considering how to cook shrimp you may also need to look at deveining. This is the process through which you remove the vein or the digestive tract of these little creatures. This can be done my making a slight cut along the outer curve and pinching off the ribbon like digestive tract. If you are de-shelling, then you can easily remove it along with the tail.
When coming down to a closer look at how to cook shrimp, the list of dishes one can make is quite remarkably long. This is because it can be used as an additive to a variety of food preparations. You could look at how to cook shrimp on its own as an accompanying dish or how to cook shrimp as part of a salad or mixed fried rice.
These things can be fried, boiled, steamed, sautéed, grilled or boiled and each type of preparation induces a slight variation of flavor. That variation in flavor can also be achieved in the accompanying ingredients of the main dish. How to cook shrimp may also need to be looked at in the context of where you are as the ways of preparation in the west differ from the more spice induced preparations in the east.