Shrimp is a very common ingredient in Chinese cooking and is usually prepared in a very specific way. Part of this preparation includes the cutting methods used. Oftentimes, you’ll see a recipe that requires the shrimp to be made into a donut shape. If you don’t know what a donut shape on a shrimp looks like, just follow this guide and you’ll be cutting in no time:

Note: The donut shaping process is applicable only to large shrimps because of the precision required. The green shrimp is also the best choice as it is larger and is easier to cut through.

  1. Start by removing the shell off the shrimp.
  2. There is some meat within the tail fan, so remove the tail very carefully to preserve as much meat as possible.
  3. Curl the shrimp so that it has the same shape as the number nine.
  4. Use a cleaver to gently slice 3/4 of the way into the fish, starting at the back of the fish.
  5. Remove any vein by holding the fish under warm running water and peel off the vein.
  6. Flatten the fish at the slice you made to open the cut and bend the halves of the shrimp. The shrimp is now in a donut shape