Dried shrimp is a common ingredient in many Asian cuisines. Dried shrimp add a rich umami flavor to any dish. They can be used as a powder, or rehydrated and added whole. Many Asian and Chinese cuisine sites will advise you to shop for this ingredient in Asian groceries. However, you can also order dried shrimp directly from several Louisiana shrimp companies. As it turns out, this is not just a specialty Asian ingredient, but used to be quite common in the US.
While My Chinese Home Kitchen is about Chinese cuisine and culture, we also focus on healthy eating. This includes locating ingredients that are healthy and safe to eat. In the course of researching where to find quality dried shrimp, I unearthed a trove of information about the seafood industry, and dried shrimp in particular.
Why dry shrimp?
Most of us are familiar with preserved meats, like ham or jerky or dried fruit. In the days before refrigeration and flash-freezing, interstate highways, and fast shipping, preserved seafood was commonplace in the US. This included dried shrimp, salted cod, smoked salmon, anchovies, dried scallops and many other types. Shrimp is found all along the Atlantic seaboard, and shrimp fishing is a major industry in the Gulf states. Louisiana’s Cajun cuisine includes several methods for drying shrimp and using it in recipes.
Most of the modern Gulf shrimp fishing industry focuses on fresh or flash-frozen shrimp. However, there are still many family-run fisheries producing dried shrimp. The history of the Louisiana dried shrimp industry is quite interesting.
How dried shrimp are made
The shrimp are cleaned (de-veined) and boiled in a brine. When the shrimp turn that bright orange-pink color, they are removed from the boiling brine and set out to dry.
The traditional method for drying the shrimp is to lay them on a flat surface in the sunlight. This takes three sunny days, with temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s (31 to 33 C). The drying shrimp are covered at night and brought indoors to prevent the moist night air from fostering bacteria growth.
The Cajun method involves removing the shell after two days. When the shells are dry enough that they crumble to powder, the shrimp are put in a bag then gently patted and tossed to break up the shells. The shrimp are then sifted in a strainer or screen in a light breeze to blow away the powdered shells.
Modern processing methods use commercial dehydrators at 140 degrees (60 C) to dry the shrimp. This prevents exposure to contaminants in the air and reduces risk of bacterial contamination.
Real Cajun Recipes shares their method for drying shrimp: https://www.realcajunrecipes.com/recipe/the-art-of-drying-shrimp-cajun-dried-shrimp/
Types of dried shrimp
Like live or frozen shrimp, dried shrimp are graded by size, and shelled or shell-on. You can also find whole, unshelled, head-on dried shrimp.
Lisa Lin, at her Healthy Nibbles blog tells how her mom used larger shrimp for soups and smaller ones were ground to powder for flavoring dumpling filling.
Wei, at Red House Spice, talks about “regular dried shrimp” and “papery dried shrimp.” The papery ones are small, intact shrimp with a white or beige color, and a sweeter taste.
Soak the larger dried shrimp for 20-30 minutes, or up to an hour, before adding to a recipe. Wei likes to soak the shrimp in hot water for 10 minutes, and then use the shrimp and soaking water in the dish she is cooking.
Choosing quality dried shrimp
Like any preserved food, dried shrimp have a limited shelf life. When you open a package, you should store it in the refrigerator, or, for longer storage, in the freezer, in a sealed container.
Quality dried shrimp have that orange-pink color of cooked shrimp, and a slightly oily texture. If the color has faded, as with dried peppers, the shrimp have been on the shelf for too long.
This is one reason why I search for good, online suppliers. Where I live in west-central Texas, the nearest major grocery is an hour’s drive, and to visit the nearest Asian market is a four hour round trip. Mail order is my best option for many ingredients. Since I can’t examine the product before purchasing, I need to know the producer has good quality control. For this reason, I try to avoid Amazon, as their suppliers can be hit or miss.
Louisiana shrimp companies
I have yet to order shrimp from any of these suppliers, so I will have to update this post in the future. However, i did locate several Louisiana shrimp fishermen, multi-generation family businesses, from which I intend to order soon:
- Al’s Shrimp Company: 3rd generation family-run dried shrimp business, founded in 1988
Al Marmande
840 Vice Road, Houma, LA 70363
(985) 209-2083
almarmande@yahoo.com - Blum’s Seafood: Family-owned dried shrimp business founded in 1912
Blum’s Seafood Products
1949 S Van Ave, Houma, LA 70363
(985) 851-4722 - Louisiana Dried Shrimp
605 North Bayou Drive, Golden Meadow, LA
(985) 475-3316
ldsshrimp@gmail.com - Faith Family Shrimp Co.
8167 Redfish Street, Chauvin, LA 70344
(985) 594-2067
(985) 637-0896
angelaportier@charter.net - Pop’s Golden Gems
P.O. Box 1086, Opelousas, LA 70571
(337) 945-0194
admin@popsgoldengems.com - Louisiana Direct Seafood
louisianadirectseafoodshop.com - Lapeyrouse Seafood at the Robinson Canal
6890 LA-56, Chauvin, LA 70344
(985) 594-2600 - Hi-Seas of Dulac
Lance Authement
6570 Grand Caillou Rd., Dulac, LA 70353
(985) 563-7183 - Blum and Bergeron
(985) 873-7561
Health concerns, sustainability, and human rights
Sorting fact from felgercarb when it comes to food safety, nutrition, and health can be daunting. For every well-researched article, there are hundreds of click-bait hysteria-laden headlines from popular media outlets. Some claim ocean fishing is destroying the planet. Others claim that farm-raised fish are poisonous.
In the modern seafood industry, there are farm-raised and wild-caught options. Seafood, whether wild caught or farm raised is generally one of the safest and healthiest foods you can eat. No, that’s not my claim: watch the videos and visit the articles cited and form your own conclusion. Both methods are essential to environmental sustainability. Especially as a source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, seafood is an important part of a healthy diet. However, there are also sources that do not practice sustainable fishing or aquaculture, do not raise their seafood in safe conditions, and some even engage in human slavery.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Both farm-raised and wild-caught seafood are essential to environmental sustainability and healthy human nutrition.
Aquaculture plays an increasingly vital role in the sustainability of food that grows both in the oceans and in freshwater. It can be used to increase accessibility and affordability of seafood for consumers and support guidance such as the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which encourages the consumption of seafood for health.
Aquaculture also plays a role in supporting wild seafood. When fish and shellfish are farmed, it helps to sustain fisheries that harvest wild-caught seafood. Aquaculture also can be used to protect wild seafood habitats and revitalize or support the environment, as well as the health of threatened or endangered species of fish or shellfish.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Dive Into Aquaculture
The dark side of the global seafood industry
In the agriculture and aquaculture industries, there are recognized safe practices for environmental sustainability and consumer health. Several industry trade groups and government agencies work to ensure a safe, sustainable food system. However, there are also some companies and countries that operate outside of safe practices.
- In 2016, the Associated Press and the Guardian did a series of investigative reports into the use of human slavery in the shrimp fishing industry: https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/; https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour.
- In 2023, American fisheries filed a claim for disaster relief because of foreign sources dumping shrimp on the US market. Producer prices tend to be higher in the US, but the US aquaculture industry is one of the highest regulated in the world. This adds to the cost for US producers.
- Colorado State University has reported high-levels of antibiotics and pollutants in farm-raised fish from countries that do not follow good aquaculture practices. Over fishing and destruction of natural habitats is also a growing problem. NOAA works internationally to fight this Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing.
Healthy and sustainable aquaculture
In the US, fishing and aquaculture is regulated by NOAA (National Oceangraphic and Atmospheric Administration), USDA (US Department of Agriculture), and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Additionally, industry and advocacy groups such as the Global Seafood Alliance and the National Aquaculture Association promote scientific, sustainable aquaculture.
One of the leading voices for science-based sustainable seafood is the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch project. If you want to learn more about safe, healthy, sustainable seafood, visit their site.
Sources cited in this article
- Global Seafood Alliance
- Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch project
- National Aquaculture Association
- NOAA Fisheries
- NOAA Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
- USDA Aquaculture
- FDA Seafood Guidance
- Colorado State University: Wild Caught versus Farm-Raised Seafood
- Associated Press: Seafood from Slaves
- The Guardian: Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics EatRight.Org: Dive into Aquaculture
- National Fisherman: U.S. shrimping communities seek disaster declaration over low prices
- Lisa Lin’s Healthy Nibbles blog
- Wei’s Red House Spice blog
- Adele’s on Canton Ultimate Guide to Perfecting the Art of Drying Shrimp
- Real Cajun Recipes
- 64 Parishes: Shrimp Drying in Louisiana
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Hello,
I often use dried xia pi, do I need to soak them in water before?
Thank you.
Hi Arnauld
It depends on your recipe and your preference.
With soups, they can be added during the simmering. In our Tofu Soup recipe, Jing soaks them then adds them at the last phase. This way they remain firm without breaking down in the broth.
For dumpling filling, some cooks grind the smaller dried shrimp to a powder and mix this into the recipe.