Protein is one of the most important building blocks of the body, many recipes would call for a protein of some sort, and one of my favorite proteins is shrimp. Shrimp is not only a good source of protein, but it is also loaded with incredible flavors and aromas, plus it is super affordable.
If you have ever tried to get shrimps from the store, then you would know that store-bought shrimps are usually frozen as a form to preserve them for longer, this however affects the flavor of your dish because the shrimps flood your dish with water when they defrost.
Some easy ways to cook shrimp would be to grill or bake them, but for today we’ll be talking about cooking them on the stove. Below are some tips that would help you cook the best shrimps on the stove.
Shrimp Nutrition Facts
Tips to Cook Shrimp on Stove
Cooking shrimp is very easy, and every amateur cook should be able to do it. I’ve made a compilation of tips to help you cook delicious frozen shrimps.
Defrost the shrimps – when you cook frozen shrimps, the heat causes the shrimps to defrost, and the shrimp releases a lot of moisture which can ruin your food. So the first thing you should do after taking the shrimps out of the packaging would be to defrost them first, you can do this by suspending the shrimps in a strainer over a deep bowl, and you want to place this in your sink, and allow a trickle of cold running water to run over it for 10 minutes. You don’t have to worry about the bowl getting filled up, because the water continues to move even after it is full to the brim, just make sure the shrimps don’t overcrowd the strainer, you can do this in batches.
Add kosher salt – just before you take the shrimps out of cold running water, you should add a tablespoon of kosher salt, and allow them to sit in the salty water for just a couple of minutes, this will enhance the flavor of the shrimps, giving them a much brighter and fresher taste. Do not allow the shrimps to sit in the salty water for too long, just 1 or 2 minutes should be enough.
Dry out shrimps – after taking the shrimps out of the sink, strain out the water and place the shrimps on some paper towels, also pat them dry with another paper towel. Drying out the shrimps is important because you are trying to get rid of excess moisture from the shrimps.
Heat shrimps – the next step is crucial to remove as much liquid as possible from the shrimps. All you need to do is to spread out the shrimps in a pan over high heat, you should allow the shrimps to cook for about 1 minute without moving them around. After that, for the next one minute, grab a wooden spoon or spatula and agitate the shrimps so the heat circulates all around them and causes them to release more liquid. The time required to heat the shrimps should not exceed 2 minutes.
Separate liquid from shrimps – after you are done cooking the shrimps for 2 minutes, you would notice that they are not yet done, just take them out and place them in a bowl to allow the more liquid runoff. After a couple of minutes, strain the liquid into a separate bowl. You can incorporate the liquid into another recipe that requires shrimp stock.
Cook the shrimps – after removing liquid from the shrimps, your would notice that your shrimps still look uncooked in some areas, well this is fine, you just have to cook it again, this time you can add some aromatics for extra flavors.
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Cooking Time for Frozen Shrimps on a Stove
| Cooking Procedure | Cooking Time |
| Thawing shrimps in water | |
| Thawing shrimps on the stove | |
| Cooking shrimps |
Creamy shrimp pasta (1 serving)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of Butter
- 1 tablespoon of Olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 lb frozen shrimps
- Salt
- Pepper
- Italian seasoning
- 1½ cups of chicken broth
- 1½ cups of milk
- 8 ounces of pasta (Fettuccine was used for this recipe, but you can use any pasta of your choice)
- 4 cups of spinach
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Defrost your shrimps by placing them in a strainer under cold drizzling water, you should also have a large bowl underneath the strainer. Do not salt the shrimp
- Next, heat shrimps in a pan for 1 minute on each side, this will get rid of excess liquid in the shrimps.
- Remove shrimps from the stove, and set them aside to cool in a bowl. The liquid should also separate from the shrimps during this period.
- In a hot pot, add 1 tablespoon of butter, also add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic (mashed), and stir everything for about 20 seconds.
- Add your shrimps, season with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and give it a good stir.
- Continue cooking the shrimps until they become red, flip them over with a tong, and cook the other side too. Remove the shrimps and allow them to cool off. While you make the pasta.
- Deglaze the pot with 1½ cups of chicken broth, also add 1½ cups of milk.
- Add 8 ounces of fettuccine, when it is slightly cooked and bendable, bend them with a tong so they fit into the pot. Continue stirring so everything gets cooked evenly.
- Add 4 cups of spinach and stir to incorporate it into the pasta.
- Season with ½ teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Also, add ¼ cup of parmesan cheese and give it a good stir.
- Add your shrimps to the pasta, and allow them to cook for 1 minute while stirring them continuously.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish, also sprinkle more parmesan cheese on it as a garnish.
This delicious pasta dish gets its creamy texture from the parmesan cheese, and I don’t even want to get started on the delicious flavor of the shrimp. You can cook up this simple recipe whenever you are plenty of frozen shrimp but are low on inspiration. If you would like to see other recipe ideas, feel free to check out this video recipe.