Salt-and-pepper shrimp. Eat the heads, or no?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I went to a Chinese buffet the other day, and they had salt-and-pepper shrimp. (Tasty, but not as good as in a ‘real’ chinese restaurant. And they didn’t have sliced seranno chilis, so I had to make-do with Sriracha-type chili sauce.) Naturally, I ate the whole animal – heads, chitin, eyes, legs, and all. (Used to gross the hell out of my former co-workers, but I like them.) Salt-and-pepper shrimp seems to be intended to be eaten that way. I mean, if you peel them, you’re removing the seasoning, right?

When you eat salt-and-pepper shrimp, do you eat the whole thing?

2

‘serrano’.

3

The Salt & Pepper Prawns and Chilli Salt Squid class at the Sydney Food School fills really fast so I haven’t got in yet. I know that if the prawns (shrimp) are cooked at a high enough heat the shells become edible. I used to go to the Spanish Club and have their seafood BBQ. You just picked up everything off the platter and ate it including the unshelled prawns.

4

Food = Seafood

5

I usually crunch down the whole shrimp, tail and all. It seems to gross people out.

6

I eat them. They’ve got hot briny spoogy goodness inside.

7

I definitely eat the shrimp heads on salt-and-pepper shrimp. I also eat the tails on fried shrimp. Crunch, crunch. Chinese buffet is fun.

8

Nope. I leave the heads on the plate, as a warning to others.

9

I leave the heads and the tips of the tails, just because I don’t care for the taste of prawn brains, and the tails are a hassle to swallow.

10

I eat whatever the chef leaves on. I like fried shrimp better with the shells on and the tails are a great texture for munching.

11

I eat my fingernail trimmings, so salt and pepper shrimp present no challenge.
But sunflower seed shells will clog you up and kill you. :rolleyes:

12

Not sure how big the shrimp are you’re talking about. If they are reasonably big, then pop the head off and suck out the brain part. tasty. If small, then chomp down on the whole thing.

13

At a buffet I would not eat the heads, they are generally not fried crispy enough for me and I dont like the plasticy texture. At a proper chinese restaurant I order them extra crispy and chow down!

14

Yes, they must be crispy if you want to eat the heads and the tailfins. Fortunately, Food Garden is a good Chinese buffet and the ones they served are crispy enough. (Could be crispier, but crispy enough.) I just wish they had the sliced chilis.