Upping My Shrimp Game

[Bonzo]

I’m looking to improve my shrimp ramen recipe by improving the shrimp quality.

The best taste/flavor I’ve been able to produce thus far has been created by the tiny dehydrated or freeze-dried shrimp that you can find in the soup ingredients section of the local international market/Asian grocery store…but in addition to being unreliably sourced at best, I can’t use them anymore because almost all of them have preservatives or additives on/in them that my partner has to avoid (severe allergy).  Also, they make a decent broth, but they don’t bring much to the meaty-bites-of-goodness part of proper ramen.

So, I’m thinking that I’ll just dehydrate some shrimp stock and turn it into a soup base, and then attempt to dehydrate some larger chunks of shrimp, which will hopefully rehydrate passably well.  Any thoughts on this?  Would a commercial freeze-dried shrimp work any better for that portion of the meal?

[Ben W]

Shame you don’t live close by, I’d hook you up with all the freeze dried shrimp you could want lol.

 

Surely you can buy freeze dried shrimp somewhere online though. (Yikes, just checked, its not cheap!!)  It may be pricey, but would be great for meaty bites.

[Bonzo]

Hey, if you’re the Shrimp Hookup, I’ll be more than happy to pay for good stuff.  And yeah, the stuff online – IF it’s in-stock – is stupidly expensive.  Makes me want to invest in a freeze-dryer.

[Ben W]

Are you thinking pre-cooked frozen shrimp like below?

Being pre-cooked and already frozen, it wouldn’t be a hassle for me to do, just shake out on the trays and hit start.

Let me know, I’d be game to process some for you, we can work out the details.

 

 

 

 

 

[Worth Donaldson]

It’s not shrimp but more closely related to lobster: https://freezedrywholesalers.com/collections/seafood/products/freeze-dried-langoustines

[Ben W]

Neat website thanks for the link, still pretty expensive, but much better than I was seeing when I searched.  Google says  “Langoustine” is an expensive critter too.  They have raw shrimp, but nothing cooked, I wonder why.

I saw quite a few chocolate items as well, I didn’t think chocolate freeze dried?  The ingredients look like regular chocolate, I wonder whats up there.

 

Neat to look at all they offer and prices.  Always makes me feel even better about owning a freeze drier.  The zucchini, we are getting buried in at the moment as the garden goes full steam.  The current load I have running (in a large, 5 tray drier) is 4 trays of zucchini and one of leftover spaghetti meat sauce.  The load before that was mostly zucchini too lol.

 

[Bonzo]

Ben: yeah, I would probably have to do pre-cooked and frozen…which sucks, being so close to some of the best shrimping waters on the planet.

Worth: Ahhh, langoustines…delectable, yet so stupidly expensive that I wouldn’t be able to afford to hike, anymore. ;)

Excellent link, though: I’ll bookmark that site and browse through it later.  Thanks!

[Ben W]

I found a bag of cooked shrimp I dried a few months back, I could send you some of those to try, if you want, just pm me where to send them.

[David Thomas]

If you really want to “up your shrimp game”, I’d suggest doing trips in Prince William Sound. Here’s the haul after soaking the pot for 5 hours on Saturday.  Also got three big rockfish and two nice halibut.

[Bonzo]

I found a bag of cooked shrimp I dried a few months back, I could send you some of those to try, if you want, just pm me where to send them.

Sure, I’d love to!  PM incoming.

Also: David, that’s a nice-looking basket-o-goodies!  How many pounds?

[David Thomas]

They’re reported by volume, not weight.  With the heads popped, that bunch and what we got in the second soak was about exactly a gallon ziplock full.

They weren’t the only red seafood that day.

[Bonzo]

Volume?  Interesting!  We go by the pound, in my end of the world.

Beautiful fish you have there; never caught one of those.  I need to get out that way and try for one sometime soon.

[Ben W]

Bonzo,

Got a package heading your way, should have it before next weekend.

 

 

 

 

[Bonzo]

Thank you, sir!  I’ll keep you know how they turn out!

[Author]

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