How to Steam Shrimp With Just Water

Shrimp cocktail

Shrimp cocktail is one of life's little food pleasures. Biting into a cooked cold shrimp dipped in spicy shrimp cocktail sauce is delicious to the taste. Getting the shrimp that way is easy. Steam the shrimp with water instead of boiling them"in the water," and you will never have tough and uneatable shrimp again.

Things You'll Need

• Food steamer (optional)
• Deep pot or hot pot
• Colander or large strainer able to withstand heat

Instructions

Steam Shrimp Instead of Boiling Shrimp

1. 

   Buy a pound of fresh raw shrimp. Make sure that the shrimp are fresh without a fishy odor. I

2. 

   Take out a stockpot or another deep pot. Fill with about 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Insert a colander or strainer filled with the raw shrimp into the pot. Make sure that the shrimp do not touch the water. Cover and allow to steam for about two minutes and turn off the burner.

3. 

   Lift the colander from the pot immediately. Rinse the shrimp under cold water to reduce the cooking heat. Remove the outer shell from each shrimp, and clean the shrimp spine by removing the black strip.

4. 

   Put the shrimp into the refrigerator to chill if you are making a cold shrimp cocktail or eating the shrimp cold. If you are serving the shrimp warm or using them in a recipe that calls for already cooked shrimp, it is not necessary to chill the shrimp.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of using a stockpot and strainer, use a steamer that already has a strainer inserted.

• Shrimp cook very fast. Overcooked shrimp become chewy and tough and are good only for the garbage disposal.

References

• Recipes for Steamed Shrimp
• Steam Shrimp in Water