Dried shrimp

Dried shrimp
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	蝦米
Simplified Chinese	虾米
Hanyu Pinyin	xiā mǐ
Cantonese Jyutping	haa1 mai5
Literal meaning	shrimp rice
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin xiā mǐ Min - Hokkien POJ hê-bí Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping haa1 mai5
Korean name
Hangul	마른 새우 or 말린 새우 or 건새우
Transcriptions - Revised Romanization mareun sae(-)u or mallin sae(-)u or geon sae(-)u - McCune- Reischauer marŭn saeu or mallin saeu or kŏn saeu
Thai name
Thai	กุ้งแห้ง
RTGS	kung haeng
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	tôm khô

Dried shrimp are shrimp that have been sun dried and shrunk to a thumbnail size. They are used in many Asian cuisines, imparting a unique umami taste. A handful of shrimp is generally used for dishes. The flavors of this ingredient are released when allowed to simmer.

Use

In East Asia

In Chinese cuisine, dried shrimp are used quite frequently for their sweet and unique flavor that is very different from fresh shrimp. They have the coveted umami flavor (or so-called "fifth taste"). It is an ingredient in the Cantonese XO sauce. Dried shrimp are also used in Chinese (mostly Cantonese) soups and braised dishes. It is also featured in Cantonese cuisine, particularly in some dim sum dishes such as rolled and rice noodle roll and in zongzi. Despite the literal meaning of the name Chinese name xiā mǐ ("shrimp rice"), it has nothing to do with rice other than the fact that the shrimp are shrunk to a tiny size similar to grains of rice.^{[citation needed]}

Dried shrimp are also used in Korean cuisine, where they are soaked briefly to reconstitute them, and are then stir-fried with seasonings—typically garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce, sugar, and hot peppers—and served as a side dish. It is called "mareunsaeu bokkeum" (hangul:마른새우볶음) in Korean. They are also used in some Korean braised dishes (jorim) and used for making broth.^[1]

In Southeast Asia

In countries like Malaysia, shrimps are used to make a condiment called sambal udang (udang being the Malay word for prawns or shrimps). In Southeast Asia, prawns and shrimps are distinguished by their size and therefore it is not practical to make sambal udang with prawns. The Malay people developed sambal udang, which uses fresh shrimp and is wetter, while the Chinese living in Southeast Asia, especially those of Peranakan descent, developed sambal udang kering, which uses dried shrimp, is drier, and can be served as pub grub. Most major supermarkets in Malaysia and Singapore sell fresh shrimp from which the shells have already been removed.

In Indonesia dried shrimp is called ebi, the name was derived from Japanese word "ebi" means "shrimp" (either fresh or dried). Ebi is important part of Indonesian Chinese cuisine as well as Palembang cuisine, it is used in various Chinese Indonesian stir fried vegetable dishes, such as stir fried white cabbages with ebi. In Palembang, ebi is boiled, grinded and sauted, to make savoury shrimp powder sprinkled upon pempek fried fish cake. Ebi also important ingredient to make shrimp broth and cooked in coconut milk to make Mie Celor. The ebi powder often also sprinkled upon asinan or sometimes rujak.

Known as kung haeng (Thai: กุ้งแห้ง) in Thai cuisine, dried shrimp is used extensively with chilies and Thai herbs to produce various types of chili paste and curry paste. Dried shrimp is also used as is in Northeastern dishes such as som tam.

In the Philippines, dried shrimp is called "hibi/hibe" (Hokkien: hê-bí) and is used in soup dishes such as misua.

They are also used in Vietnamese cuisine, where they are called tôm khô, and are used in soups and in fried rice.

Dried shrimp for sale near Bến Thành Market, Saigon

In Africa

It is used in many African countries like Nigeria when preparing many dishes involving vegetables.Typically cooked in oil with vegetables like spinach, pepper and tomato sauce.

In Brazil

The cuisine of Brazil's northeastern region makes extensive use of dried shrimp, which they call "camarão seco". It is often reconstituted for use in stews or special hot sauces, such as in Acarajé. It may also be ground into a fine powder for use as a condiment, as on Moqueca. At times it is added directly to a dish as an edible garnish.

In Louisiana (United States)

Dried shrimp are often added by Cajun cooks to gumbo to add an intense salty flavor. They can also be used as a snack by themselves, and can be commonly found in snack size portions in stores in south Louisiana.^[2]

See also

• Conpoy
• Saeujeot
• Shrimp paste
• Padaek
• Budu
• Fish sauce
• Boshiamy (the Mandarin word 蝦米 is used to write the Hokkien pronunciation of 什麼)

References

1. ^ Park Eunju (March 2008) (in Korean). Spring namul soups: from Gyeonggi to Jeju (봄나물국 1: 경기부터 제주까지 팔도 봄나물국). DesignHouse. http://www.design.co.kr/section/news_detail.html?info_id=43353&page=2&category=000000000003. Retrieved 2008-04-14. "마른 새우 그냥 먹어도 단맛이 강한 마른 새우를 국에 넣으면 국물 맛이 달큼해진다. 마른 새우로 국물 내는 방법은 통으로 이용하거나 잘게 다져서 넣는 것 두 가지가 있다." 
2. ^ "A true Cajun secret: using dried shrimp in seafood gumbos." thecajunfoodie.com. Accessed January 31, 2010. Retrieved on 2010-01-31.