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Prawns or Shrimps

A simple boiled prawn or shrimp dish seasoned with coarse sea salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Prawns or Shrimps

Ingredients

Directions

Boil

  1. Boil water briskly in a pot.

  2. Add a couple of handfuls of coarse sea salt and stir.

  3. Remove the scum that forms on the surface.

Cook and drain

  1. Add the prawns or shrimps; they will float when done.

  2. Use a colander to drain the prawns or shrimps.

Season and cool

  1. Wrap the prawns or shrimps in a dry cloth.

  2. Sprinkle the wrapped prawns or shrimps with salt while hot.

  3. Cover 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

What each ingredient does

Prawns or shrimps
The main protein; they cook through in the hot salted water and turn firm and opaque.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the cooking water and, sprinkled on while hot, seasons the prawns directly.

The step that matters

Add the prawns or shrimps; they will float when done.. Overcooking makes prawns tough and rubbery, because the proteins tighten further once they are fully set. Watch for the floating cue and drain promptly.

“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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