Walt came home from the market in Selles-sur-Cher yesterday morning with a kilogram of fresh — never frozen — raw shrimp. This is a first for us in France, where shrimp are almost always sold cooked. You can sometimes buy raw ones frozen at the supermarket, but they cost a fortune.
The only real solution is to buy frozen raw shrimp in the Asian grocery stores in Blois, or Tours, but that requires a two-hour drive from Saint-Aignan and back. I like to clean the raw shrimp (called crevettes or gambas in France) myself by removing the shrimps' head, shell, and the digestive tract. That's what we did in North Carolina when I was growing up. I don't throw the heads or shells away, but I boil them in water to make a shrimp broth to use in soups and sauces.
The only real solution is to buy frozen raw shrimp in the Asian grocery stores in Blois, or Tours, but that requires a two-hour drive from Saint-Aignan and back. I like to clean the raw shrimp (called crevettes or gambas in France) myself by removing the shrimps' head, shell, and the digestive tract. That's what we did in North Carolina when I was growing up. I don't throw the heads or shells away, but I boil them in water to make a shrimp broth to use in soups and sauces.
Yesterday for lunch I made a stir-fry (called « un wok » in French) using shrimp, onions, garlic, ginger root, broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, and Asian sauces including soy, yakitori, oyster, and Thai fish sauce. We enjoyed it with steamed rice and some potstickers. Another idea for cooking with shrimp and shrimp broth is risotto.
i hope you keep finding fresh shrimp like this.
ReplyDeleteMouthwatering picture, Ken!
ReplyDeleteI bet you'll be going to the Selles-sur-Cher market more often?
ReplyDeleteI like the round photo--is that something you were able to do in Blogger? I've never noticed an option to do something like that.
Yumm!
So smart to use the leftover bits to make a broth! This looks so good Ken. We bought them all the time growing up in Texas, they were so cheap back then. Just throw them in a pot with crab boil spice. I don't ever see the pile of uncooked shrimp in the markets here, like we used to see in the 60s and 70s.
ReplyDeleteWow Ken, this looks delicious! But what are pot stickers? (Excuse my ignorance.). I think we can get fresh prawns here but I’m not confident I could make this dish - a lot of ingredients, but my mouth is watering. You’re such a great cook.
ReplyDelete