Dried shrimp

Dried Shrimp in the Isthmus by LSmithPhoto.com

Dried shrimp.  These are one of the major ingredients in the cooking of the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca.  Centuries before the Spanish came, the Huaves and other coastal peoples were harvesting shrimp from southeastern bays and lagoons.  Most of the catch was boiled, sated and dried whole in the shells, for transport to the interior regions.
Today the flavor is still beloved everywhere in Oaxaca, but I have had a hard time selling it to some of my U.S. friends.  Only Thai food enthusiasts take to it readily.  It is penetrating and briny, with the insistent overtone of the dried shells.  But I remember that many people here didn’t like cilantro either, until they learned to appreciate its magical chemistry with other flavors.  Dried shrimp is another of those flavors that seems to mingle with many kinds of ingredients.  It combines wonderfully with such Oaxacan accents as pumpkin seeds, dried chiles, beans, masa, chepil, or epazote.
Whole Mexican dried shrimp is available in Latin American groceries everywhere in the U.S.  It is usually sold in 1- or 2-ounce packets.  One ounce roughly equals 10- 12 large dried shrimp, or about 1/2 – 2/3 cup.  But there is no standardization of sizes between different brands.  The shrimp are brittle and easily crushed, so look for packets with the contents as intact as possible.  Usually the heads will still be attached.  They are the most delicious part, but Oaxaca cooks are absolutely adamant about one detail:  Always remove the two bitter-tasting black bits that are the eyes.
Unless I will be toasting them, I generally give dried shrimp, a brief soaking in several changes of cold water to remove some of the salt.  Do not worry about removing the thin, delicate shells except in puréed dishes where they are easily removed by forcing the purée through a sieve.
Mexican dried shrimp are also sold ground to a fine powder (camarón molido). Though this is more convenient, I usually prefer the flavor of the whole shrimp.