Papery Dried Shrimp Skin.

Other than the regular dried shrimp we talked about (Dried Shrimp), there is another dried shrimp product that is made of the shrimp shells or really tiny shrimp.

These tiny dried shrimp, known as ‘shrimp skin’ (虾皮) in Chinese, is like the dried shrimp in terms of flavor but is a few notches lighter. They are much smaller, papery and they cost less.

The regular dried shrimp is on the right in the picture for comparison, while the tiny dried shrimp skin is those on the left.

The good thing about dried shrimp skin is they don't require soaking process prior to cooking. They can go directly from freezer to stove.

I also keep a bagful of these for use when I need to punch up the umami, and when I make my special Pork Stew Meat Sauce.

Dried Shrimp Skin and Dried Shrimp