Do you love the lightness of shrimp salad during the summer? Me too! It tastes fresh and healthy but is still packed with protein. This is my "master" recipe for shrimp salad, a concept recipe, begging for your own adaptations and substitutions, with three different sauces. So easy, so versatile!
First published in 2008, updated & republished in 2012
REVIEWS
"... just finished the most amazing shrimp salad." ~ Heidi
Stuck in a shrimp rut, that's where I've been for a few weeks. It started when small cooked shrimp were on sale at the grocery, begging to be turned into shrimp salad for supper that night. The salad was good enough, but lacked a certain oomph. But by the next day, whoah, it was ever-so-good: it just needed a few hours for the flavors to meld!
So I set off to create a shrimp salad tasting just as good on-the-spot as some-time-later. So sorry, no luck in that department.
But there's an upside, something perhaps even more useful, a concept recipe for shrimp salad, a formula that easily adapts to what's in season, what's on sale, what just sounds good.
It was a very good rut, shrimp salad.
To help both drain and further dry the shrimp before tossing them into the salad, I leave them in a colander with a plate beneath and put these into the refrigerator, uncovered since it will be just a few minutes. This helps prevent the shrimp salad from getting a little watery. My friend Kirsten suggests pickling the shrimp for an hour or so in a brine, then draining and using in the salad. It's a very Scandinavian thing, I must-must try it soon!
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SHRIMP SALAD
Time-to-table: preferably 4 - 24 hours
Serves 4
- 1 pound small shrimp, peeled, tailed, deveined
- 1/3 of an English cucumber, diced small
- 1 rib celery, diced small
- Something wet and fruity - mango, peach, cantaloupe, in bite-size pieces
- Something sharp for underneath - 2 green onions, chopped or red onion, diced small
- Something fresh - dill, basil, mint
-
SAUCE IDEA #1 - light & lemony
- Zest & juice of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Drop or two Tabasco
- Salt & pepper to taste
-
SAUCE IDEA #2 - traditional mayonnaise (my favorite)
- 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1-1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon horseradish (or to taste)
-
SAUCE IDEA #3 - Asian-style
- Zest & juice of 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili paste
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
FOR UNCOOKED SHRIMP Drop into boiling water for 3 minutes, then into a bowl of ice water for a minute. Drain and pat dry.
FOR COOKED FROZEN SHRIMP Rinse under cold water, drain and pat dry. (Small shrimp finish thawing while prepping the other ingredients; larger shrimp may take longer.) Set aside.
SALAD Combine
Combine the remaining ingredients. Turn in the shrimp. For best flavor, cover and refrigerate for about four hours or even overnight. Serve on lettuce greens.
WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 4/4/3, PointsPlus 5/5/4.
More Shrimp Recipes for Hot Summers
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Great idea - sounds yummy!
Sally ~ Thanks, friend, for the catch. It's a tablespoon and I've corrected the post, too.
Well done! If I'd read that an hour ago (before my gorcery run) I would have come home with shrimp. I particularly like the addition of fruit.
Yum, yum, yum.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove shells -- you can leave tails on or off as desired. Drizzle shrimp with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I roast the 16/20s for 7-9 minutes, the 21/25s for 6-8 minutes. The smaller the shrimp, the less time they need to roast.
This is now my preferred way to cook shrimp for salads and shrimp cocktail.
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna