The Shocking Truth About Shrimp and Gout: Are You at Risk?
“There’s a saying that the taste of autumn shrimp can straighten a bent back,” which speaks volumes about shrimp’s flavor and nutritional value. Shrimp, the representative crustacean seafood, offers various types, allowing us to enjoy them in multiple forms, such as shrimp paste, grilled shrimp, and more. The culinary history of shrimp dishes goes back much further than we might think, and we will introduce some exciting and valuable stories related to shrimp dishes.
The Origin of Tempura
At the end of the 16th century, Portuguese explorers and missionaries arrived in Nagasaki, Japan, following the closure of the land trade routes with Asia. The Portuguese missionaries presented gifts of candles and candy to the then-Japanese ruler, Oda Nobunaga, and received permission to trade at the Nagasaki port. During their missionary work, during fasting, the missionaries fried and ate shrimp, commonly caught in Japan, which piqued the Japanese people’s interest in shrimp tempura. When the Japanese people asked about the food, the missionaries explained that it was ‘casual tenpura,’ a fasting food, and the Japanese people picked up ‘tenpura’ as the keyword. From then on, they called fried dishes ‘tempura’.
Shrimp Crackers, Cooked Like Grilled Shrimp
Shrimp Crackers, the first snack in Korea. In the 1960s, snacks were unfamiliar, with biscuits and hardtack being the main munchies. Manufacturers make shrimp crackers similarly to grilling shrimp with salt. Instead of the usual snack-making method, they heat salt to make these crackers. They mix shrimp and flour to create the dough, roll it out thinly, cut it into the shape of shrimp crackers, and grill it on the heated salt. After grilling, they sprinkle the crackers with salt and dressing to finish them. On average, each 90-gram bag of shrimp crackers contains about 4.06 shrimp.
Eating Shrimp Heads Can Trigger Gout
After eating grilled lobster, people often enjoy fried shrimp heads’ crispy and savory taste. However, people with high uric acid levels should be careful. Shrimp heads contain a substance called ‘purine,’ which can increase the concentration of uric acid in the blood and cause gout. In addition, beer is also classified as a high-purine food, so if you eat shrimp heads and beer together, the concentration of uric acid in the blood can become very high. Therefore, it is advisable not to consume them together.
Shrimp Dish Without Shrimp, Longyan Sharen
Among the traditional Chinese Buddhist dishes, some do not use meat. They are called vegetarian dishes. One of them is ‘Longyan Sharen’. Longyan Sharen is a shrimp dish without shrimp. Cooks carve the main ingredient, mushrooms, into the shape of shrimp, coat them with egg whites and starch, and then fry them. They complete the dish by stir-frying it with various seasonings, including ginger. The appearance closely resembles shrimp, so you wouldn’t think it’s a fake shrimp. The culinary technique of preparing food for monks using various vegetables and grains to mimic dishes made with ingredients like beef and pork has developed in China.
Shrimp, With Similar Benefits to Milk
Shrimp are rich in calcium and a substance called chitosan. These substances perfectly support bone health, and experts say they are effective in preventing osteoporosis in menopausal women and promoting growth in children during their growth period. In addition, the shell contains a lot of chitosan, so if you consume the shell, you can ingest more chitosan. Also, the part of the shrimp that gives it its red color contains a substance called astaxanthin, which removes active oxygen, helping to prevent various diseases, including cancer, and showing good effects for anti-aging inflammation improvement.
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