How to remove the fishy smell from frozen shrimp

Shrimp is a delicacy that everyone likes, but if you are inland, you may not be able to eat fresh shrimp and can only buy frozen products. Frozen shrimps are also quite convenient to eat, but if you have eaten frozen shrimps, you will encounter a problem, that is, the fishy smell is very strong. In this case, you need to use some methods to remove the fishy smell. So, how to remove the fishy smell from frozen shrimps? Let’s take a look below.

1. Remove the black fishy glands

Remove the black fishy gland on the back of the shrimp (which may be the shrimp's gastrointestinal tract).

Fishy smell gland: There is a white line on each side of the fish's body, called the "fishy smell gland". The mucus secreted by this mucus gland contains trimethylamine oxide, which has a certain umami taste (the deliciousness of fish meat is the opposite of this). But when the fish dies, this umami-tasting "trimethylamine oxide" will continue to be "deoxygenated" and reduced to "trimethylamine" and diffuse into the air. The fishy smell we smell is basically the smell of "trimethylamine". Some odors from the external environment, such as the earthy smell in the water, directly attach to the fish smell line through small holes. Shrimps also have fishy glands, for the same reason as fish.

2. Soak in salt water

Soaking the shrimp in salt water for two hours can effectively remove the earthy smell.

The principle of removing fishy smell with salt is mainly to utilize the principle of salting out, combined with the osmotic pressure of cold water. The salting-out effect of salts and the dilution effect of crystal osmotic pressure are weakened under alkaline conditions and strengthened under acidic conditions.

3. Marinate with cooking wine/white wine/fruit wine and other alcoholic beverages

Alcohol is an organic solvent that can dissolve and volatilize fishy substances. Therefore, we can sprinkle cooking wine or white wine on the shrimps and marinate them for 20 minutes to remove the fishy smell. Because the fishy smell of fish and shrimp is mostly trimethylamine, and wine contains alcohol, which can dissolve trimethylamine very well. Moreover, the temperature is high when cooking, and alcohol and trimethylamine are all easy to evaporate, so the fishy smell is removed in a short while.

4. Cinnamon sticks

When boiling shrimps in boiling water, put a cinnamon stick in the water to eliminate the fishy smell without affecting the delicious taste.

Cinnamon sticks are cinnamon bark that is rolled into sticks during the production and drying process. They are available in most vegetable markets and spice shops.

5. Vinegar

Adding a little vinegar when cooking shrimp can dissolve the fishy smell. Because a large part of the fishy smell of fish, shrimp, etc. is amines, which are weakly alkaline, and the acetic acid and alkaline amines in vinegar can combine to form neutral salts, thus reducing the fishy smell.

6. Onion, ginger and garlic

Add some onion, ginger and garlic when cooking shrimps, because they are rich in allicin (also known as garlic) and propylene sulfide, which can remove fishy smell and enhance the flavor.

7. Orange peel

Orange peel contains a lot of vitamin C and essential oils. When making dishes like shrimp soup, adding a little orange peel or grapefruit peel (cut into small pieces) can remove the fishy smell and also bring out the fresh fragrance of the peel.