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To Boil Prawns or Shrimps

A simple method for boiling prawns or shrimps in salted water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Boil Prawns or Shrimps

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the prawns

  1. Bring a pot of water to a brisk boil.

  2. Add a handful of salt to the boiling water.

  3. Add the prawns or shrimps to the pot.

  4. When they rise to the surface, they are done.

Drain and season

  1. Transfer them to a colander to drain.

  2. Once drained, place them in a dry towel and rub salt among them while hot.

  3. Wrap them in the towel and let them cool.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The step that matters

Stopping at the surface. Prawns cook quickly in boiling water. Leaving them past the point where they float lets the proteins tighten further, which makes the flesh tough and dry.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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