• Prepare the Shrimps(The way to deal with shrimp).
• The best way to thaw shrimp is in a sealed box or container in the refrigerator for 24 hours to thaw slowly. Do not put the shrimp in the microwave oven to thaw as it will ruin the shrimp.
• If time is short, you can wash the shrimp under running water to remove ice from the surface, and then drain in a colander at room temperature (preferably not higher than 20 degrees Celsius) to thaw.
• First, remove the shrimp head by placing your knife where its head joins the body and cut off the head. Done this way, a part of the shrimp body will depart with the shrimp’s head which seems a waste, but there would be more waste if you just pulled off the shrimp’s head. Cutting is neater and more economical.
• The shrimp body has a cavity holding its digestive tract and some gray matter (pictured in the figure below). Liver from mammals can be tasty and good for you, but not so with shrimp! You need to remove both the digestive tract and any gray matter.
• Strip the shrimp shells off with your hands, but don’t throw them away. Gather them up with the shrimp heads and gray matter and make a tasty shrimp oil by frying them in a small pan of oil for 20 minutes and straining.
• Now to the most difficult step: removing the membrane wrapped around the shrimp. Removing the membrane improves the shrimp’s appearance because the membrane will turn red after heating.
• The next step is to remove the shrimp’s digestive tract. With a sharp knife cut along the shrimp’s back to expose the cavity so that you can easily separate the digestive tract. Keep any gray matter surrounding the intestines for making shrimp oil.
• Next, you need to cut off the shrimp’s tail, or the shrimp will not curl into a perfect ball.
• When you’ve removed the tail, you will notice two muscles on the back of the shrimp. Carefully remove these with a knife.
• Now to the secret to making the shrimp curl! With the knife, gently cut open the back seam of the shrimp starting at the front and moving towards the tail.
• Cut deeply, being careful not to cut all the way through so that the whole back of the shrimp can be opened out. When cooked, the shrimp contracts and rolls into a beautiful shrimp ball. For small shrimps less than 30 grams, one cut down the center is fine, but if the shrimp is large, you will need to make two extra cuts along either side of the inside of the intestine cavity to enable the shrimp to curl up.
• Be very careful when making these cuts as the blade is only a few millimeters away from your fingers!

Pickle the Shrimps

• Place three shrimp balls in a large bowl with add ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of sugar and 50 ml of water, and mix with your hands. Stand for five minutes.
• After 5 minutes remove the shrimp and rinse with water. Pat dry with paper towels.
• To a clean bowl add one teaspoon of starch, two teaspoons of water, and a pinch each of salt and white pepper (1 teaspoon = 5 ml). Stir to combine and coat the three shrimps in the paste. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cook the Shrimps

• Take a small pot and add 400 ml of rapeseed oil, and heat to 160 degrees Celsius.
• Put the salted shrimp into the hot oil.
• As soon as the shrimp curls into a ball, fish it out and drain on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
• Take a small flat non-stick pan, preheat for one minute and pour in two teaspoons of rapeseed oil and 10 grams of the white part only of green onions. Stir fry until the fragrance is released and then pour in 5 ml of Shaoxing wine and millet juice (1 g starch +20 ml of water), stirring constantly.
• When the liquid changes from milky white to transparent, add the fried shrimp balls and quickly stir fry to coat shrimp balls in a layer of transparent glassy juice. Serve immediately.
• Although it is a typical Chinese meal, it is best to eat Glass Shrimp Balls Western-style with a knife and fork so that you can cut them into small pieces. This way, you can eat them slowly, savoring every mouthful of deliciousness!