Freshwater Shrimp From India

[Corinne]

I bought a 2 lb bag of these things: IQF. What are these creatures?!?! I peeled them today. I peel a lot of shrimp to make Bang Bang Shrimp - - so I'm really familiar with what a shrimp & it's shell feel like! These things totally threw me off. The shell was very thick & they seemed to have a double shell on one section that you could pull away from the other shell - like wings. The shrimp felt short & fat, for lack of a better way to describe them!

I was going to use them for Bang Bang but after feeling them I didn't know if that was a good idea. I pulled the bag out of the trash & the package suggested grilling or sauteing. I will grill them tomorrow with a garlic paste concoction.

They just totally freaked me out! I haven't found much info on them by Googling Freshwater Shrimp.

[AllenOK]

Buy any chance, could you take a picture of the packaging and post that? I've seen freshwater shrimp/prawns before, live, and they look just like regular shrimp. However, what are describing, at least to me, sounds almost like a langostine/langostino, which are more closely related to lobster. I've bought some before, at an Asian grocery store, and they were different.

[Ishbel]

They sound like what we call Langoustines or Dublin Bay prawns. Here's a phtoograph.

http://www.panda.org/news_facts/news...m?uNewsID=6861

[Constance]

I remembered my father-in-law talking about "rock shrimp", so I looked that up. I believe that's what you have. Check out the following:

http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/FC...e/RkShrimp.htm

[Shunka]

Corinne, was the name on the bag IQF? If it was, I have tried them and you can use them like you would regular shrimp. They just don't have as strong a "shrimp" taste but are still good.

[Constance]

I was just talking to my husband about what we call rock shrimp, and he reiterated what was said above...they are more like lobster than shrimp. He likes'em.

[Robo410]

they're very good.
However, as the adds say, if you want wild American shrimp, then you gotta get wild American shrimp. (and PAY for em too)

[Corinne]

I'm so sorry that I didn't take a photo of the bag & the things themselves - especially the shells! That's what weirded me out so much!!!
If I buy them again, I will follow up with photos.

The bag said "Freshwater Shrimp". From India. And yes, they were IQF - which I took to mean Individually Quick Frozen. I bought them at a Super WalMart. The 2 lb bag cost around $15.

[Swann]

Originally Posted by Shunka

Corinne, was the name on the bag IQF? If it was, I have tried them and you can use them like you would regular shrimp. They just don't have as strong a "shrimp" taste but are still good.

Some of the best shrimp around are raised in Gila Bend, AZ. http://www.desertsweetshrimp.com/ One of the premer chefs in Scottsdale was quoted on a TV interview that those are the only ones he will use.

[Shunka]

I have heard that too about the fresh water shrimp from Gila Bend. Haven't had the pleasure of trying them yet. Seems they are a bit pricier and usually only sold around the Phoenix area; not up here in Prescott or Flagstaff that I know about. Thanks for the link!! I just checked it out!