虾仁 (xiārén) · shelled shrimp

Meanings

1 shelled shrimp
2 shrimp meat (peeled, no head/tail/shell)

About the ingredient

水产 Fish and seafood

Shrimp with the shell and legs taken off, ready to cook; the best are springy and juicy. Cooks often coat them in egg white and starch before a quick stir-fry, and add them to scrambled eggs, fried rice, wontons and dumplings.

Contains shellfish

Used in 23 dishes

烧卖 shāomài

扬州炒饭 Yángzhōu chǎofàn

江南百花鸡 Jiāngnán bǎihuājī

Characters

kernel; edible inside; (also) benevolence

Examples

HSK 5

我点了一份虾仁炒饭。

Wǒ diǎn le yí fèn xiārén chǎofàn.

I ordered a serving of shrimp fried rice.

HSK 7-9

妈妈在剥虾仁。

Māma zài bāo xiārén.

Mom is peeling shrimp.

Tips

culture

虾仁 specifically means peeled, deshelled shrimp ready for cooking - what English menus call 'shrimp meat'. Famous dishes: 龙井虾仁 (Longjing-tea shrimp, a Hangzhou specialty) and 虾仁炒蛋 (shrimp scrambled with egg). The 仁 ('kernel') is the same character used for the edible inside of nuts (杏仁 'almond kernel').

memory

虾 = 'shrimp', 仁 = 'kernel/inside-meat'. Just like 杏仁 'almond kernel', 虾仁 means 'the meat inside the shrimp', i.e. the shrimp once you've removed its shell.