Seafood gives a huge scope for culinary creativity. You just need to learn how to cook them deliciously and properly. Shellfish and crustaceans require not only a special, but also an individual approach. What can not be done with them?
Why cook twice?
This is not necessary. Most of the seafood purchased in stores is already boiled, repeated processing will only spoil the taste. If the shrimp is littered in the refrigerator, then the readiness can be determined by appearance.
Raw clams have a gray color. Salmon tint on ponytails and fins is allowed.
Boiled shrimp always orange-red, bright, attractive in appearance.
Fresh mussels closed, ready have an open sink or completely cleaned.
Concerning squidthen they are always sold fresh. These mollusks do not tolerate long cooking, it is enough to simply blanch for two minutes in boiling water. If boiled squid is found on sale, then you should be wary of this product.
By the way, if the shrimp has a dark abdomen, then it is spoiled. It is easy to poison poisonous with seafood, therefore it is not worth saving, it is better to immediately remove such instances.
Dill, beer, wine
Very fond of the Russian people dill. It can be added when cooking crayfish. Fragrant umbrellas and twigs will help get rid of the smell of tina. But shrimp, squid and other marine life do not. Why interrupt the natural marine aroma?
Dill spoil the taste, the finished dish just will not please.
The wrong additives can also include beer, red wine and everyone’s favorite bay leaf.
These components also do not give anything good to mollusks, spoil the taste and aroma.
It is wiser to add white wine, garlic, lemon juice or zest, citrus peels, olive oil.
It is better to introduce greens into the finished dish or use it in small quantities for decoration.
Cook, soar, fry
The biggest blunder that makes rubber pieces out of seafood is lengthy heat treatment. Never cook shrimp, squid or scallops for a long time. Enough for them to boil for 3-5 minutes. Squids need even less.
Shell seafood cooks a little longer, but no more than 7 minutes.
Basic cooking rules:
- You need to run seafood in boiling and salted water.
- You can add other spices to the liquid, for example, lemon peel, peas of pepper, pieces of garlic.
- Seafood is brought to a boil very quickly. So that the process does not drag out, you should immediately choose the most powerful burner.
- After cooking, the mollusks are not left in the water; it is necessary to abruptly stop the heat treatment. To do this, the products are immediately poured into a colander.
- Seafood is softer and tastier when steamed. For medium-sized shrimps and mussels, 4-5 minutes are enough, squid and scallops need even less.
If it is also planned to fry the mollusks after cooking, then they will only be blanched for a minute. Most often this is done for easy cleaning. But it is better to fry immediately after thawing, removing all the water. Do it very quickly in hot fat and not more than three minutes. If you plan to cook them with sauce, then it is more reasonable to cook it first, then lightly fry the main product and simmer for a minute together, no more.
Useful trick! If you need to cook assorted, then the shellfish in shell are thrown first in boiling water, boiled for one or two minutes, and then peeled and tender seafood is added.
Live mussels
Mussels lose their taste and aroma after freezing. That is why live shells are more valued. If you managed to get it - you get an amazing dinner. But to cook live mollusks is better in another way. First you need to wash them and soak for twenty minutes. Mussels will clean themselves, get rid of sand.
How to quickly and tasty cook:
- Heat a little oil in a pan, add 3-5 cloves of garlic, fry for a minute.
- Pour mussels, pour a little white wine. Sinks should not swim, alcohol is needed only for flavor. Squeeze out a little lemon juice.
- As soon as the shells begin to open, we note the time. After 2 minutes, the dish is ready! You need to quickly shift from a hot pan to plates.
If any sink with this cooking method or during classical cooking did not open, then we have a spoiled mollusk in front of us, it should immediately be moved to the bin.
Oh intestines!
In shrimp and crayfish, the intestines run along the tail. It is visible, it is a dark tube. Sometimes it is light in color, the intestines are empty. In any case, it is recommended to delete it. Even when preparing shellfish in a shell, it is incised and pulled out. It is advisable to work with a knife carefully, the esophagus is at a depth of only 2-3 mm. If you accidentally cut it, the contents will fall onto the meat. In this case, the shrimp must be washed.
It is advisable to clean the intestines before cooking. If boiled clams are bought, then this is done after thawing the product. It is more convenient to use shrimp already freed from the esophagus than to pull it out at the table.
By the way, it is customary to use seafood in southern countries without cutlery exclusively by hand. So really tastier! If they ate with sauce or pasta, then cutlery is served.
Fat or oil?
Seafood has a very delicate texture of pulp, it quickly absorb not only spices, but also fats. Therefore, when frying, they never use sunflower oil. Even refined product is not recommended. It makes more sense to cook clams in olive or butter. Sometimes they are mixed, it turns out the perfect duet.
You can cook shrimp in coconut oil, it perfectly sets off the taste, combines with garlic, fits into the canons of proper nutrition.
But in this case, it is important to purchase a food product, this should be indicated on the package.
Useful Tricks
- If seafood has a too pronounced aroma of algae, then during cooking you can pour a spoonful of vodka.
- Of all seafood, only an octopus is cooked for a long time. For this reason, he is the toughest in a cocktail. After thawing, you can beat off the octopus slightly, and then throw it into the water.
- Because seafood is often eaten by hand, they are served with a bowl of water and lemon to rinse your fingers.
- If the choice of spices is confusing or tormented by any doubts, then you can confine yourself to lemon, white wine and garlic. This is a win-win trio.
