Why Do They Leave The Shells On?

[RueFang]

I've been wondering why most local dishes are made using prawns (shrimp) with the shells and heads still on. Is it because it adds to the flavour? I find it lessens my enjoyment of the dish trying not to eat the shell, the head and the tail and trying to deshell them on the plate before eating it. I did go through a phase of just eating the entire prawn (and still do if it's they're small) to see if I was missing anything! but really, I'm just not a fan of the clop cloppy feeling of the shell and all those legs in my mouth Now, leaving the tails on I understand it's all about presentation, but when I cook I completely deshell them...practical cooker rather than beautiful presentation cooker Do you eat the whole thing or have some subtle way of de-shelling?!

[sbk]

unsubtle, just pull it off

My husband had a seafood pizza one time, she'd left the tails on. He diligently removed all the tails but missed one hiding under the cheese. Swallowed a piece of it which lodged in his throat. It scratched the heck out of his throat and bothered him for a couple of days. It was the last time he ate a seafood pizza.

Neither one of us could figure out why she left the tails on in a pizza!

[RueFang]

Perhaps she thought it looked pretty!! Never been a fan of seafood pizza...just don't think that bread goes with seafood

[popshirt]

My Thai boyfriend just eats the whole thing, head, shell, tail and all! Maybe a good source of calcium?

[realthaideal]

Besides the shells in tom yum goong, notice the pieces of lemongrass, and chunks of galangal. Thais are comcerned about the flavor not the ease of consuming something. More than that it is pleasing in Thai eyes, I believe to see these things. YOu know everything that should be in a proper bowl of the soup is there. Sucking on the bits and pieces is fun as well. The center of lemon grass can be eaten and is a tasty treat and supposed to be good for you. Same too with Kha.

Another interesting point when you think or look at it as the Thais do, is that it doesn't need to be peeled or easier to eat. You don't need to be able to scoop all your food and shovel it down without thought, with total ease to get it in you asap. Dining can be slow. It can be fun. It has pieces that need to be nibbled at or chewed on. This is a meditation. In the West we get way to used to the idea of pouring food down our gullets with only a passing thought or two about the taste. We lose the experience of REALLY slowing down to enjoy and think about the food and the process. This is my opinion after looking at how Thais approach many things food related and not. One that amazes me though is the tendency to eat steamed/boiled corn by popping off kernels with the hand, only a few at a time. The cob is completely cleaned and takes from 10 mins to a half hour to eat. Compare this to what I see in the US where people suck down three cobs of corn in a that same half hour along with half a chicken or so. It's kind of gross. One piece of corn can be gratifying and be an experience, and eaten entirely. This is in contrast to sloppily chomping half the kernels off and smearing the rest around, leaving a fair amount of waste and not knowing what you've eaten. This is just one example. But I can easily extrapolate this to the shrimp n peels experience.

And btw, the tgf loves bones and shells. She grew up poor and knows they have good calcium in them. She will chew things that make me scared for her teeth. It's all practicality in many cases as well.

[meow_lek]

Besides the shells in tom yum goong, notice the pieces of lemongrass, and chunks of galangal.

The only problem with the prawn shells is a few moments of discomfort the next morning but all the herbs and roots also have medicinal properties that make them good to eat.

meow

[jayenram]

Neither one of us could figure out why she left the tails on in a pizza!

It is said that leaving on the tail shell prevents the prawn from shriveling during the cooking. However, prawns on a pizza I think would have been precooked.

Eating lobster with a party of Chinese in Hong Kong. They put the whole pieces in their mouths, crunch up the shell to get at the meat then spit the shell out (usually on the floor).

[p_brownstone]

Usually I prefer shells and / or heads left on the Prawns but it can somewhat depend on the dish being served.

Steamed items like “Kung Krajok” I don’t really like, perhaps because they are usually prepared with the prawn completely de-shelled and de-tailed and, to me, they never have much taste, although the crunchy texture – when not overcooked – can be attractive. (I will avoid one of my favourite rants about Farang at Hotel buffets eating steamed de-shelled Prawns which they carefully and thoughly soak in tomato ketchup beforehand - must have palates like cardboard).

Fried dishes - something like “Kung tod grathiem prik Thai” I prefer with the shell removed but leaving the head and tail on, this definitely improves the flavour in my opinion, and I invariably eat the whole thing.

Grilled Prawns – of a size in excess of around 4”, are much tastier when cooked with both shell and head still attached. However I must confess that I am still not skilled enough to eat the things with any style; my wife and all my Thai friends can shell them without looking - carrying on a conversation all the while - and leave all only their fingertips smeared with juices and an unbelievably small pile of shell at the side of their plate every time. I have to concentrate to the exclusion of all else;they could sound the last Trump and I’d still not hear, I’m struggling so hard to take the shell off neatly and not appear as a complete naïf. Often I will just give up and eat the whole thing except the head.

Patrick

[sbk]

realthaideal, my husband is Thai, and he couldn't understand the tails on the prawns in a pizza either.

As for eating them whole, well, living on an island where people grew up eating seafood regularly, I can't say I have ever seen a local eat the entire thing.

But yes, the tails and heads are left on for flavor during cooking.

[suegha]

Interesting topic. An Indian friend of mine made a curry with prawns last week and left the tails on. I ate the first few and after that decided they did nothing for the dish so removed them.

Would the shells be a source or calcium?

[wileycoyote]

I always thought it was a weight issue..they are weighed with shells to evaluate cost.

Hence,without shells they are appear smaller and worth less.

Wiley Coyote

[sceadugenga]

The red gunge inside the head is actually the tastiest part of the prawn, when you dismantle the creature out of a bowl of tom yam you can either slurp it out of the shell or add it to the rice that should accompany it.

I've eaten the shells but they have to be deep fried so they crisp up, whole prawns can be eaten this way and are quite tasty.

Not a for the more timid diner though.

[pumpuiman]

I agree with the previous post saying that Thai people enjoy the extra work involved. When my wife first came to the U.S. she couldn't understand why everything was boneless, filleted, shelled, strained etc.

She says she enjoys the work. I have come to enjoy it as well. We will spend an hour sucking the bones of a fish....where I used to eat the same amount of meat in minutes when filleted.

The smaller Thai shrimp are thin skinned as well (so I've read) and can be enjoyed without peeling.

Get your hands in there, take your time and enjoy. Bones, shells, fat, big chunks of herbs etc. means lots of flavor.

Don't be shy......dive right in!!

[Naam]

I've eaten the shells but they have to be deep fried so they crisp up, whole prawns can be eaten this way and are quite tasty.

i had several times BIG prawns which were charcoal grilled. no need to claw of the blackened shell. excellent taste!

[lomatopo]

I think a lot depends on the type of dish, the people who will be eating it and your choices of shrimp.

In the west it can be challenging to get fresh shrimp; most will be pre-processed and frozen. Most frozen shrimp have the heads removed, then a split between with shells and without. Usually any seafood waste, like shells would be used to make stock.

For many western dishes you would use just a peeled, deveined tail-less shrimp, or for some baked dishes you would leave the tail on as much for presentation as anything else.

Since we have easy access to fresh shrimp here, and the steps between farm and table are few, there is little processing and preparations are left up to the individual cook.

There is no doubt that for many Thai dishes, and preparations of shrimp using the whole shrimp contributes to the flavor. Either the shell keeps the flavor in (direct/indirect heat, basically steaming the flesh in it's own moisture) or contributes to the flavor of the dish, like Tom Yum.

Personally I do not eat the shells nor the eyes.

I do not believe the shells are left on to somehow extend or enhance the dining experience.

[sabaijai]

I think a lot depends on the type of dish, the people who will be eating it and your choices of shrimp.

In the west it can be challenging to get fresh shrimp; most will be pre-processed and frozen. Most frozen shrimp have the heads removed, then a split between with shells and without. Usually any seafood waste, like shells would be used to make stock.

For many western dishes you would use just a peeled, deveined tail-less shrimp, or for some baked dishes you would leave the tail on as much for presentation as anything else.

Since we have easy access to fresh shrimp here, and the steps between farm and table are few, there is little processing and preparations are left up to the individual cook.

There is no doubt that for many Thai dishes, and preparations of shrimp using the whole shrimp contributes to the flavor. Either the shell keeps the flavor in (direct/indirect heat, basically steaming the flesh in it's own moisture) or contributes to the flavor of the dish, like Tom Yum.

Personally I do not eat the shells nor the eyes.

I do not believe the shells are left on to somehow extend or enhance the dining experience.

None of the Thais I know remove the shells from prawns before eating them, only the thorniest top of the head. Some also remove the fan part of the tail. Other than that it seems to me most Thais enjoy eating the shell. I've learned to enjoy eating them that way myself, to me it's similar to eating softshell crab.

[UnknownPoster]

Flavor, the shells add flavor.

I avoid eating the heads though.

Some years ago, the fisherman were stuffing lead pellets into the head to add weight, increasing profits.

Be carefull.

[Lindsey]

It's annoying in a dish. if they take off the shell, why not just remove the tail too.

[lazeeboy]

I've been wondering why most local dishes are made using prawns (shrimp) with the shells and heads still on. Is it because it adds to the flavour? I find it lessens my enjoyment of the dish trying not to eat the shell, the head and the tail and trying to deshell them on the plate before eating it. I did go through a phase of just eating the entire prawn (and still do if it's they're small) to see if I was missing anything! but really, I'm just not a fan of the clop cloppy feeling of the shell and all those legs in my mouth Now, leaving the tails on I understand it's all about presentation, but when I cook I completely deshell them...practical cooker rather than beautiful presentation cooker Do you eat the whole thing or have some subtle way of de-shelling?!

easy way to de shell them .......let the wife do it for you .

[lomatopo]

It's annoying in a dish. if they take off the shell, why not just remove the tail too.

I am pretty sure this is done for presentation purposes, to let the diner know that these are shrimp. I know it sounds a bit silly. For some baked shrimp dishes only the tails are visible so again another presentation trick. For more complex preparations: pasta, pizza, salad, omelet then the tail would be removed. Recipes are usually quite clear on the preparation of individual ingredients.

I was at a large sidewalk seafood restaurant on Yaowarat Road a few days ago and noticed all the diners (Thai) removed the shells from the large (~ 150 mm) barbecued shrimp.

[theseveredhead]

thais also like to suck the heads (prawn)

part of it is laziness though (lil shrimps)

[sabaijai]

The shells are delicious and nutritious, leave 'em on!

[rogerdee123]

The shells are delicious and nutritious, leave 'em on!

Yeah I like the shells too especially when the shrimp are those small ones that you can plop in your mouth head and all.

But if you think eating shrimp with shells is difficult, try eating a turtle! In the Khmer Krom area on the Vietnam Cambodia border they have these in season and they just put the live turtle on the hot coals on it's backor sometimes in a steamer when they want to be sophisticated and let er cook. When they serve it you just pull off the breast plate (it comes off pretty easy after it's cooked) and grab a big spoon and dig in, innards an all. But like Big John's restaurant, this tastes a lot better after a few beers.

[suegha]

"put the live turtle on the hot coals" Now that's sick and unnecessary!

[jayenram]

"put the live turtle on the hot coals" Now that's sick and unnecessary!

I quite agree but it happens. I believe that in Taiwan they still cook fish alive but with the head protected (nowadays with tin foil) so the eyes and mouth are still moving when the fish is served.

Also in north east Thailand, frogs have their legs broken (to prevent them escaping) and are then skinned alive prior to cooking.

See here: http://freebeerforyorky.com/market.html - 1/2 way down the page.

(Note: the site works better with Firefox/Netscape than with I.E.)

It's a cruel world.

Edited August 22, 2007 by jayenram
To add note

[thai_narak]

I've been wondering why most local dishes are made using prawns (shrimp) with the shells and heads still on. Is it because it adds to the flavour? I find it lessens my enjoyment of the dish trying not to eat the shell, the head and the tail and trying to deshell them on the plate before eating it. I did go through a phase of just eating the entire prawn (and still do if it's they're small) to see if I was missing anything! but really, I'm just not a fan of the clop cloppy feeling of the shell and all those legs in my mouth Now, leaving the tails on I understand it's all about presentation, but when I cook I completely deshell them...practical cooker rather than beautiful presentation cooker Do you eat the whole thing or have some subtle way of de-shelling?!

exactly, adds to the falvour. if cooked crispy i'll eat the whole thing except the head but for big ones the mrs. would do the job for me.

[Ulysses G.]

None of the Thais I know remove the shells from prawns before eating them, only the thorniest top of the head. Some also remove the fan part of the tail. Other than that it seems to me most Thais enjoy eating the shell. I've learned to enjoy eating them that way myself.

I'm starting to understand why you and I disagree so often on restaurants. I prefer the meat of the shrimp to the shells!

[Bub]

Please refer to this link. There are a lot of similar ones by using the words "how to peel shrimp" in a search engine. It seems that Thais feel it preserves the flavor and juices.

I hate eating it that way, too. I'm embarrassed by not knowing what I'm doing and consequently eat some bad-tasting stuff. It was only my second night in Bangkok that I was served chicken feet. Talk about gross! It was all I could do to keep from throwing up. I love it over there, though, so I keep trying.

http://okok.essortment.com/shrimppeeleat_nux.htm

[mikethevigoman]

I've been wondering why most local dishes are made using prawns (shrimp) with the shells and heads still on. Is it because it adds to the flavour? I find it lessens my enjoyment of the dish trying not to eat the shell, the head and the tail and trying to deshell them on the plate before eating it. I did go through a phase of just eating the entire prawn (and still do if it's they're small) to see if I was missing anything! but really, I'm just not a fan of the clop cloppy feeling of the shell and all those legs in my mouth Now, leaving the tails on I understand it's all about presentation, but when I cook I completely deshell them...practical cooker rather than beautiful presentation cooker Do you eat the whole thing or have some subtle way of de-shelling?!

Some thais eat the lot, my ex wife preferred the shell to the contents, we ate at a quite high class restaurant in wales, we had 8 prawns delivered in the shells, when the waitress came to collect the plates she asked " wheres the shells " i replied "oh my wife eats them," ,we got a very strange look,.