Prawn Obsession
- Yue Gu
- May 6, 2017
- 3 min read
noun: obsession /əbˈsɛʃ(ə)n/
the state of being obsessed with someone or something.
an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind
I have a confession to make: I am obsessed with shrimps or prawn; now don’t ask me about the difference between the two.
This obsession traced a long way back to my school years when my mom always poached salted fresh water prawn during the days of exam. On the dinner table, she unshelled the cooked prawns, slid them gingerly into rice vinegar and said ‘eat; prawns will give you brain power’’ and sure enough, those prawns worked.
Poach is not the only way to appreciate the versatility of fresh water prawn. Marinate those prawn when they are still live with rice spirit is a bizarre but utterly thrilling tasting experience. I remembered the first time I had tried them, feeling grow up.
Summer is the roe season. Heavily pregnant shrimps, giving somewhat curious texture, are regarded as a delicacy in Shanghai.
Another way of eating big-sized shrimps that I liked a lot is simply to steam them together with ginger and spring onion. Steaming as I called it in my book a naturalist cooking technique preserves the original flavour of shrimps. While slightly firm up the texture of the body, shrimp heads are left suckling juicy.
Rather disappointingly, when I moved to Europe I found most shrimps are cooked in a heavy-handed way: too much seasoning, too much sauce and too much cooked. I’m still obsessed with shrimps. Almost religiously ordered them if they are on the menu. Often than not, I was unsatisfied but I was also undeterred.
September 18th, 2016 is a game-changing day for my quest of shrimp in the Europe. We arrived in Rome Fiumicino airport at lunch hour. We were supposed to go to a wedding that night, but Felice who seized every opportunity he can to try restaurant decided we are going for lunch in one Michelin-starred restaurant Pascucci al Porticciolo just a stone’s away from the airport.
The restaurant has a jaded appearance, but once the first dish, a home-made bun filled with raw fish tartar, arrived, we were thoroughly enchanted and all the dishes hitherto are surprisingly good.
Somewhere towards the end of the meal, the hostess brought a plate with a ceramic lid. Once she opened the lid, for seconds my eyes are shrouded by some steam and my nose a whiff of lightly smoked rosemary, thyme, sage; then I saw 4 handsome red shrimps rest on an intact salt block surrounded by a gorgeous looking wreath of Italian herbs. The hostess explained that the shrimp is baked on the salt brock and garden herbs are lightly burned for the infusion.
When they crossed my mouth, I must have exhaled: an old friend I’ve been always waiting for: such sweetness, such tenderness, the smell of the sea, smell of the Mediterranean garden
23rd December 2016, lunch before x’mas eve; we came once again to Pascucci al Porticciolo, sure enough I ordered the gamberi rossi again, I missed it so so much.
February 2017, Felice had ordered a special sweet salt block of Cervia and he just replicated my dream food.
noun: obsession /əbˈsɛʃ(ə)n/
the state of being obsessed with someone or something.
an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind
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