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Dried shrimp


Kikujiro

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adey73 - I dehydrate meats at about 145 degrees Fahrenheit - so that is the temperature I used for the shrimp. Mine were already (peeled and) cooked (not that that probably took very much time since they are very small shrimp) and pretty salty as they were so no, I didn't brine them. I think they took about 4 hours. Shelf stable for me means they are crispy before I remove them from the dehydrator - but I am not Asian so I may be doing it all wrong. Of course I store them in a mason jar with an O2 absorber too just to be sure. They aren't exactly like Asian dried shrimp since they are peeled but I think there is a taste resemblance. I need to experiment further.

 

hummingbirdkiss - Thank you. You just sent me on an adventure. I had no clue what Mam La'Hong was. Lahong I gather means green papaya. It seems there are MANY methods for its preparation. So far however, while I found one youtube that shows drying shrimp for a short time in the dehydrator to reduce the water, I have not yet found one that started with 'dried shrimp' and rehydrated it - though, given that each family seems to have its own method, I am sure some people do do that. At any rate, thank you. Very interesting quest you sent me on.

Edited by Deryn (log)
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I always keep a jar in the fridge. I don't like the canned anchovies in salt that I can find here, even the agostino recca very expensive are not that special.

I often substitute the shrimps for the anchovies in some italian dishes: orecchiette with cime di rapa is one.

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They aren't exactly like Asian dried shrimp since they are peeled but I think there is a taste resemblance.

 

There are unpeeled dried shrimps/prawns in the E/SE Asian pantry (especially Korean) but the majority of the dried shrimps/prawns I know and find and use are peeled.  There are some with very thin shells that are for practical purposes sort-of-peeled.

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I never saw it used with dried shrimp either just did it ..I rehydrate the shrimp then pretend it is  fresh ! have fun ! it is really yummy with or with out papaya ..fermented shrimp paste I am surprised you guys have not tried this? but glad to share something "newish" 

adey73 - I dehydrate meats at about 145 degrees Fahrenheit - so that is the temperature I used for the shrimp. Mine were already (peeled and) cooked (not that that probably took very much time since they are very small shrimp) and pretty salty as they were so no, I didn't brine them. I think they took about 4 hours. Shelf stable for me means they are crispy before I remove them from the dehydrator - but I am not Asian so I may be doing it all wrong. Of course I store them in a mason jar with an O2 absorber too just to be sure. They aren't exactly like Asian dried shrimp since they are peeled but I think there is a taste resemblance. I need to experiment further.

 

hummingbirdkiss - Thank you. You just sent me on an adventure. I had no clue what Mam La'Hong was. Lahong I gather means green papaya. It seems there are MANY methods for its preparation. So far however, while I found one youtube that shows drying shrimp for a short time in the dehydrator to reduce the water, I have not yet found one that started with 'dried shrimp' and rehydrated it - though, given that each family seems to have its own method, I am sure some people do do that. At any rate, thank you. Very interesting quest you sent me on.

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why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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sorry I buy mine dried already  ..I have never had enough shrimp in my house that I could dry it …but I can buy a great big bag of locally dried and sourced for fairly good prices they use dehydrators I am sure but the temp? I woulnt worry too much just do it on the same as fruit I would think? 

I always assume food I prepare is healthy and try to just be super sanitary I am not overly worried about fermentation because when it has gone wrong is it REALLY EVIDENT !!! taste texture color and smell are wayyyyyy off shrimp is fine to try fermenting just remember I warned you about the smell ..I like it becuase I know what it leads to! 

Deryn & Hummingbirdkiss, what kind of tempurature and duration do you dehydrate the shrimp?

 

do you brine them first to make them shelf stable?

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
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why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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There are so many varieties of dried shrimp/prawns available from Chinese/Asian groceries.  Surely that is an enticing alternative to laboriously doing it yourself with iffy results, just because you are supposed to do it on eG.

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huiray - The only ones I have ever bought have had that very thin shell on them - which, yes, I eat so they are like 'peeled' in that sense. The ones I can get locally in Nova Scotia however come already peeled and cooked - and frozen - but they are wild caught nearby.

 

hummingbirdkiss - Yes, I have shrimp paste. I did note that some recipes for mam la'hong appear to use a paste (presumably shrimp paste - not all the videos were translated well or completely) rather than whole shrimps. At any rate, shrimp paste is a staple I keep around all the time, but, I would like to, again for the reasons I mentioned above - source of the shrimp, etc. - try making my own shrimp paste as well.

 

I am not sure though whether using a modern dehydrator would be a good substitute for laying the (salted) shrimp out to dry in the sun every day for many days and collecting it at night to store in a jar till it disintegrates. I suspect not - and I am also unsure if I would need to try to dry the shrimp over a period of several days, removing them at night - and at what temperature I should do the drying. Guess I will need to experiment since it doesn't seem as easy as just taking dehydrated shrimp and processing them in a blender (which, if crispy would yield a powder so I guess water? would have to be added back). Seems the outdoor sun time, especially if done with the miniscule shrimp that is often used for paste, is a large/critical part of the fermentation process.

 

On the other hand, even if I can make some semblance of a shrimp paste at home, it is bound to be unlike that made from plankton shrimp - and I will have to choose what 'consistency' direction I want to take it in (dried block form or 'saucy' form).

Edited by Deryn (log)
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I am so excited to talk about fermented shrimp and shrimp paste ..and honestly I can not IMAGINE anything tasting better than drying in the sun or having the correct texture…like chiles from NM I know and love a specific type grown and dried in a specific place and when i roast the Hatch that make it up here and end up putting some sage in what ever I cook just to try to get some of that "environment" into my food…it is never perfect but you can hack .…but maybe dry them  low and slow most of the way in the dehydrator and then put them outside during some hours of the day? or try low and slow in a smoker with some sun here and there ….we just use dried because it was how we can get more shrimp flavor into dishes that have no shrimp in them as well…(I love to drop dried shrimp into any of my back packing or camping dehydrated toss togethers)  not that much fresh shrimp in my life sadly… I just can not get it and do not care for farm raised at all I have had some dried from a Korean mkt that were farm raised and thought what was the point ..no flavor at all and  ..my husbands throat itches with farmed shrimp ….I know where the tiny ones I can get here are  are harvested and can buy them fresh but wow they are tossed into a ceviche and all kinds of things before  I could even think of drying them … see maybe in Eastern Wa people are drying shrimp and I just do not know and could be missing out on some of the best tasting stuff ever! … ..  I never thought about using anything but dried to ferment and just tossed it as an "idea" assuming ..now I am kind of excited you asked me questions…and are interested in something I just take for granted so I will do more research and write down what I do and get back in or maybe start a fermented shrimp topic? if they are super crispy I mix them with salt anyway and just have shrimp salt like mushroom salt ..you know everything we are saying about shrimp could carry over to the mushrooms  ..but that is a whole other can of worms :) maybe later …I am going to stay informed and start calling around to see if I can find out if they dry shrimp east of the mountains or here ..I like bigger dried shrimp for some things but mainly can only get the tiny ones locally sourced here …interesting subject thanks back to the garden I hear the weeds growing 

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why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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  • 3 months later...
I love dry shrimps.  if you have not tried it before, I can assure you that the flavor is completely different from fresh shrimp. 

 

Here is my Kam Heong Sauce recipe which dry shrimps are the major ingredient.  This is a Chinese sauce invented by the local Malaysian.  Taste especially well with stir-fried chicken and seafood.

 

Recipe for Kam Heong Sauce (Dry shrimps = main ingredient)

 

Ingredients:

 

80ml oil

50g dry shrimp

8g garlic

35g shallots

6g curry leaves

5g bird's eye chili

 

10g curry powder

20g oyster sauce

10g light soy sauce

6g sugar

1/4 tsp dark soy sauce

 

Method:

 

1. Soak the dry shrimp in warm water for at least half an hour. Wash thoroughly with water to remove any shrimp shells.

2. Chopped the garlic, shallots and bird's eye chili. (Note: remove the chilli seeds before chopping if you prefer to be less hot.)

3. Saute the dry shrimp, garlic, shallots, curry leaves and bird's eye chilli with the oil over a small flame until fragrant.

4. Add curry powder, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and dark soy sauce to (3). Stir and mix over a small flame for half a minute.

 

You can find the stir-fried chicken recipe by using this sauce here: 


 

 

Cheers and hope you like this dry shrimp based recipe.

 

The image is the Kam Heong Chicken (Spicy stir-fried chicken with dry shrimps)

 

kam heong chicken.png

My name is KP Kwan. I am a pharmacist turned restaurateur who lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I have worked in my restaurant more than ten years and since year 2012.

 

I am also a food blogger.  You can read my blog at http://tasteasianfood.com/

I am looking forward to learning and contributing topics about culinary skills in this forum.

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