Baked shrimp

People who have lived in the water town in the south of the Yangtze River or the Lixiahe area in the north of Jiangsu know "baked shrimp" mostly. This is a unique and interesting dish. This dish, also known as "drunken shrimp", needs to be trimmed with live prawns, washed, then put in a container (preferably in a wide-mouthed glass bottle), then add a proper amount of soju, pepper, Jiang Mo, sugar, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, cover it, and shake the container, so this dish is made successfully. Due to the addition of various seasonings, this "baked shrimp" tastes wonderful: spicy, sour and sweet. Because shrimp meat is almost raw, it is especially fresh and tender, and it feels sweet and greasy when eaten in the mouth. However, what is even more interesting is that the "smashed" shrimp seems to be "drunk" and "awake". If it is not careful, it will jump from the dishes or "fly" away from the chopsticks, which will make people laugh. The author once ate "Baked Shrimp" 30 years ago, but at that time, he didn't know the taste, only thought it was "fun", and even naively thought that "Baked Shrimp" was an invention of Jiangsu people. Now it seems that it is wrong. Is there more than "baked shrimp" in Jiangsu in China? And not only in modern times can we "bake shrimp"? According to Liu Yao's "Records on the Ridge Table" in the Tang Dynasty, it is recorded that: "Southerners buy more shrimps, such as chopped vegetables, orchids, etc., first pour live shrimps with thick sauce and vinegar, and cover them with lettuce, but after hot drinks, they run away, and some jump out of the vinegar dish. It is called' shrimp raw'. It' s awkward and heavy, and it' s different. " It can be seen that as early as more than 1000 years ago in Guangzhou, there was "baked shrimp" in China, and it was regarded as "unusual" by ordinary people. In the Song Dynasty, there were also "baked shrimps" on the market in Lin 'an (Hangzhou). Until the Qing Dynasty, there were still "drunken shrimps" in Zhu Yizun's "The Secret of Eating Xian Hong" and Gu Zhong's "Keeping Xiao Lu". The preparation method is as follows: "Pick fresh shrimps, put them in bottles, mix pepper and Jiang Mo well, stew them with good wine and pour them over.". Add salt and sauce when eating "("Food Xian Hong Mi "). From this, we can see that the trend of eating "baked shrimp" in China has been continuous for thousands of years. Nowadays, because of the water pollution of rivers and lakes, there are not many people who eat "baked shrimp". However, if live shrimps are taken from lakes with good water quality, combined with proper production methods (mainly sterilization measures), this "baked shrimp" can still serve people and tourism. It is reported that "Baked Shrimp" has been resumed in hotels in some cities in the south of the Yangtze River, which has won a warm welcome from some cool Japanese friends who are addicted to raw fish and shrimp.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)