Easy Chinese salt and pepper shrimp - recipe
Shrimp and prawns differ in several ways, including anatomically, but when it comes to cooking, most people use them interchangeably, unless a specific type is called for (such as carabineros and tiger prawns).
When I buy them, I look for freshness and liveliness, rather than counting the number of claws they have, or checking to see how the shell segments overlap. Although I say "shrimp" in in this recipe, you can also use prawns.
The correct way to eat salt and pepper shrimp is without peeling away the shells – where all the flavour is. If the shrimp are cooked right, you can eat almost the entire thing: pull off the head, suck out the juices and nibble away the crispest bits (sometimes the whole head is edible), then eat the body, shells and all.
For this recipe, don’t buy shrimp (or prawns) that are too large, because the shells will be thicker and therefore less tender. I like small ones - the body (without the head) shouldn’t be longer than 6cm (2⅔in).
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