Head off, shell off, vein out; what is left is the part you actually cook with, frozen the hour it was peeled.

What It Is

The peeled meat of white shrimp, deveined and with the tail removed, so each piece is a clean crescent of pale, firm flesh. Frozen individually rather than in a block, which means you can take out a handful and leave the rest in the freezer without thawing the lot.

Where It Comes From

Farmed in brackish ponds along the Pacific coast of South America and peeled at a plant beside the water, so the gap between harvest and freezer is measured in hours rather than days. The ingredient list is short on purpose: shrimp, water, nothing else.

Specifications

State on Arrival

Frozen loose, not a solid block. The pieces are separate in the bag, pale grey-white, evenly sized and intact; a bag full of broken fragments means the shrimp were handled badly before freezing.

Storage and Thawing

Keep at -18 C or colder. Thaw only what you need, in the refrigerator, for 3 to 4 hours, then pat dry. Never thaw shrimp in warm water: the outside goes soft while the centre is still ice, and the texture never recovers. Do not refreeze.

Shelf Life and Delivery

Best within 12 months of the production date on the box. Ships in an insulated liner with dry ice and arrives hard frozen.

How to Cook It

Shrimp turn from grey to opaque white a good minute before they are actually done, so judge them by feel: firm and springy, not tight.

• Stir-fry pat dry, toss in a hot wok for 90 seconds with garlic and spring onion, then take them out before you add anything wet.
• Soup slide them into simmering broth off the heat and let the residual warmth cook them through in 2 minutes.
• Hot pot drop them in at the table and lift them out as soon as they curl and turn white.
• Pan-sear dry them well, sear in a single layer for 45 seconds a side, and finish with butter and lemon.

Allergen Information

Contains crustaceans. Packed in a facility that also handles fish and molluscs.