Soy-Dipped Shrimp

Directions

1. 1
   Preheat a grill to moderately hot.
2. 2
   Mix the paprika, peanut oil, and salt and pepper to taste and rub all over the shrimp.
3. 3
   Grill the shrimp, turning once, until done, about 5 minutes.
4. 4
   Meanwhile, mix the soy sauce with the garlic, ginger, lemon juice, and cayenne; taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. 5
   Serve the shrimp hot, with the soy mixture as a dipping sauce.
6. 6
   Almost all shrimp are frozen before sale.
7. 7
   So unless youre in a hurry, you might as well buy them frozen and defrost them yourself; this will guarantee you that they are defrosted just before you cook them, therefore retaining peak quality.
8. 8
   There are no universal standards for shrimp size; large and medium dont mean much.
9. 9
   Therefore, it pays to learn to judge shrimp size by the number per pound, as retailers do.
10. 10
    Shrimp labeled 16/20, for example, contain sixteen to twenty per pound; those labeled U-20 require fewer (under) twenty to make a pound.
11. 11
    Shrimp from fifteen to about thirty per pound usually give the best combination of flavor, ease (peeling tiny shrimp is a nuisance), and value (really big shrimp usually cost more than $15 a pound).
12. 12
    On deveining: I dont.
13. 13
    You can, if you like, but its a thankless task, and there isnt one person in a hundred who could blind-taste the difference between shrimp that have and have not been deveined.