Cook your prawns briefly in the shell, with a touch of oil or butter, for gorgeous color and flavor.

While learning Chinese cooking in Shanghai, I was reminded of just how good shrimp can be. Normally the Chinese-style shrimp I’ve been served revert to the mean…which unfortunately means wan pale-pink crescents afloat in a murky goo. These prawns were bold and spectacular.

The quality of the ingredients and cooking technique makes all the difference here.  First, look for shrimp that are “in season,” meaning that they’re not in the process of molting or preparing to shed their shells. Shrimp in this condition cook up watery.

Second, cook up your shrimp whole to extract more color and flavor from the shell. This is because of the shrimp’s algae-derived carotenoid pigments. A shrimp’s coloring is attached to its proteins to make it a camouflage-friendly greenish or grey tone. However, when the animals are cooked, these pigments denature and detach from their protein molecules. The broken chemical bonds result in a change of color — green becomes red! The pigments are more soluble in lipids (like oil or butter) than in water, creating a brighter color. Just compare the photo above to a platter of steamed shrimp, and you can see the difference.

The pigment in shrimp turns from green to red during cooking -- and intensifies if you use an oil.

Overall get yourself fresh shrimp and cook them in the shell, rapidly and briefly, for the tastiest dish.  The shell reduces the leaching of flavor from the shrimp during cooking. You’ll find that cooking shrimp in their shell concentrates the proteins, sugars, and pigments that flavor the outermost layer of meat — and I bet you’ll be a convert too.

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Sweet and Sour Prawns, or Gan Shao Da Xa

INGREDIENTS

200g fresh prawns

Vegetable oil for frying

1 teaspoon minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon minced ginger

2/3 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon hot chili sauce

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup rice wine

Drizzle of sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1.) Wash your prawns. Slit open their backs and remove the dark vein. Try to thread it out using a toothpick.

2.) Fry the prawns quickly in oil and plate them on a plate. Set aside.

3.) In a wok, stir-fry onions until translucent, but not brown. Add chopped garlic and minced ginger and cook until fragrant.

4.) Add ketchup, sugar, hot sauce, salt, and water. Cook until sauce has reduced and thickened.

5.) Place prawns back in your pot. Add rice wine.  Cook for ten minutes over low heat.

6.) Serve immediately, drizzled with a touch of sesame oil.