Cleaning shrimp, or high school biology?

I have never peeled or deveined a shrimp before, ever. My family was always culinarily-challenged, and I’m not sure they knew (or cared) about cleaning shrimp. In retrospect, that is kind of frightening, but I’ll get to that in a second. As for me, I have always bought them already cleaned, and sometimes even frozen. Some busy gals still love to cook, and purchasing prepped shrimp was an easy option.

Since I make it a point to learn anything in the kitchen I can, I decided that today would be the day I would buy fresh, shelled shrimp and clean them up myself. I’d seen how it was done on TV: tear off the legs, peel off the shell, slice down the back of the shrimp, and pull the ick out of there—easy. But doing it myself was like taking a trip back to high school biology.

I remember high school biology like it was yesterday. One of my best friends and I were paired up to dissect a fetal pig, which we affectionately referred to as Bubba. The teacher showed us how to gently pull its intestines out in one piece, and it looked so clean and easy. But once we were inside of Bubba, it was a different story. Our friend’s innards were covered in a slimy substance, and getting those intestines out without tearing them or him apart felt so impossible. And so, so gross.

Taking the shells off the shrimp was no problem at all. But inside, the shrimp had all sorts of “veins”, some thin and nearly invisible, and some that were so startlingly thick I had to close my eyes and wash the goo out as quickly as possible. I couldn’t shake the thought of shrimp literally being scared shitless as they died. I am still shuddering.

Obviously, if I’m going to be any kind of chef at any point in my life, I will have to get used to this. So from now on, I’d like to peel and devein my own shrimp as often as possible. But it just goes to show that even the easiest looking things can be difficult hands-on. I learn that lesson with food very often (like the time I bloodied my hand while shucking a clam—but that’s another blog post).

Since I’m still new to this whole super-fresh shrimp thing, will someone please answer me this: if the shrimp taste better cooked with the shell on, when does the deveining happen? Or does it??

East Bay A-Z: E is for Enssaro

Name: Enssaro
Where: Grand Lake, Oakland
Type of Food: Ethiopian
Price: $5-15/entree
More Info: Yelp

E is for Ethiopian, so this week we headed to Enssaro on Grand Avenue. An unassuming storefront on the outside, but we were confused by the inside: the interior dimly lit and draped in gauze-like cloth, the bar dressed up like a straw hut. But the smell of meat and berbere filled the air, and we were ready to eat.

If you have never had Ethiopian food (I’d only been once before), make sure you wash your hands well, because those will be your utensils for the evening. Dishes are served with a generous amount of injera, a flat, spongy, crepe-like bread used to pick up your food, usually a thick stew of sorts. Overwhelmed by the menu? Try the meat or veggie combo to get a variety of flavors—our favorites were the ground beef and collard greens, and the lamb with berbere sauce. Skip dessert, but go for the honey wine, which tastes first like honey, then like a fortified wine with a malty beer aftertaste. It’ll knock your socks off.

Not ready to give Ethiopian cuisine a try yet? Learn more here!

East Bay A-Z: D is for De Afghanan Kabob House

Name: De Afghanan Kabob House
Where: Berkeley (University and San Pablo)
Type of Food: Afghan
Price: $5-15/entree
More Info: www.deafghanan.net

We had a few “D” options to choose from, but we decided to venture down the road less traveled: Afghan food. What IS Afghan food? If the meal we had was any indication, it is a cuisine that favors spice—but not necessarily heat—and likes to toe the line between sweet and savory.

De Afghanan is a cozy little place with a cheery owner who is glad to offer suggestions to new customers. Try the bolani kadoo, a sweet/savory flatbread reminiscent of a pumpkin quesadilla served with yogurt and chili sauces. We also had the mantu, dumplings stuffed with leeks and seasoned ground beef with an oregano meat sauce; the lamb kabob; plus, orange barley tea while we waited for our takeout. They all hit the spot on a rainy day, making our first experience with Afghan food a good one.

East Bay A-Z: C is for Chai Thai Noodle

Name: Chai Thai Noodle
Where: East Oakland
Type of Food: Thai
Price: $5-15/entree
More Info

C is for cheap, so this week we took a trip to Chai Thai Noodle in East Oakland. A clean, no-nonsense family establishment, Chai Thai Noodle has an extensive menu of curries, noodle dishes, and various other entrees to choose from. I went straight for the Chan Pad Poo, a Pad Thai-like dish with dungeness crab and egg that was a hit with Yelpers, and ordered it “medium spicy” at the server’s recommendation. The noodles were chewy but not overdone, and the spice made the dish extremely flavorful while imparting the perfect amount of heat (Note: The heat does overpower the crab, so you may consider getting this dish mild). Among our other food selections were the barbecue pork neck (sliced into long strips and tasted not unlike bacon), the tofu tod (avoid), and the pad see ew (highly recommended). Don’t let the location deter you—Chai Thai Noodle is worth the trip for some good, cheap eats.

East Bay A-Z: B is for Bay Wolf

Name: Bay Wolf
Where: Piedmont Avenue, Oakland
Type of Food: New American
Tab (appetizer, entree, non-alcoholic drinks, tip): $84.84 for 2
Dinner Menu

Bay Wolf has a focused menu with a select few ingredients, so you can tell that what you’re going to get is probably going to be, at the very least, fresh. Our server recommended the lamb’s tongue salad with poached egg, capers, and a mustard vinaigrette. The tongue was braised, was incredibly tender, and had an unexpectedly subtle lamb flavor. My entree was a grilled duck with asparagus and green garlic flan (which was more like a pudding, but a tasty and inventive idea). The duck is quite possibly the best I’ve had in a long time, surpassed only by a pan-seared duck I had at Chambers Kitchen in Minneapolis last year. We also had a sausage-stuffed quail with lentils, and a goat cheese ravioli with beets and greens, which were both delicious but could have perhaps used a bit more acid for brightness. Again, we were left with no room for dessert, but some items that caught my eye were the rose-scented rice pudding and mini ice cream sandwiches with chocolate and caramel dipping sauce.

Bay Wolf is a pretty calm and quiet restaurant and has a large, semi-outdoor seating area with shutters that can be opened on mild, sunny days, and heat lamps that can be used on chillier nights. The service is formal, yet unpretentious, and seamless; we hardly noticed when our waters were refilled or our plates were taken away. All in all, highly recommended for a special night out.