INTRODUCTION

Fried, steamed, or barbecued? In the end, it doesn’t matter, because everyone’s crazy about shrimp. It’s the world’s most popular fresh seafood. (Only canned tuna surpasses these little crustaceans.) U.S. cooks and consumers ate 963,000,000 pounds in 2000. And to think shrimp was bait a century ago.

When you bite into a perfectly prepared shrimp, its meat sweet and moist, you may wonder why it deserved all the health-scare press it got in the 1990s. While admittedly high in cholesterol, shrimp actually contributes to better ratios between LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol). Shrimp also lowers triglycerides in the blood. And a quarter-pound serving has only 80 calories, with less than 1 gram of fat.

Over the last year, we’ve been on a quest for the new-and-different and the tried-and-true. We tasted a stew of shrimp and pastis at a country hotel in Provence. In Denver, far from either coast, we found an authentic Japanese country restaurant, serving the finest tempura this side of Kyoto. And one spring night, we wandered from one Queens diner to the next, searching for the consummate example of that East Coast staple, shrimp scampi.

As you may have noticed, The Ultimate Shrimp Book is part of an ongoing series that includes The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, The Ultimate Party Drink Book, and The Ultimate Candy Book. “Shrimp?” friends asked when we started. “How does that fit with the others?”Easily. Shrimp is fun food, party food: quick, simple, and satisfying.

In this book, there are standards you probably haven’t thought of in years, like Shrimp Thermidor and Shrimp à la King. There are also plenty of modern favorites, like Popcorn Shrimp and Kung Pao Shrimp. And there are some surprising treats, like Black Pepper Caramel Shrimp, a Vietnamese delicacy. As in all the Ultimate books, these basic recipes are pushed to new heights with variations. Once you master a basic recipe and some of the variations, try making up your own variations. That way, shrimp, the ultimate fun food, will be as fun for you to make as it is to eat.