 At times it is added directly to a dish as an edible garnish.Dried shrimp was introduced to the American South in the 18th-century colonial period, by thriving Filipino fishers in Saint Malo, which was located in present-day St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, on the shore of Lake Borgne, until 1915.In south Louisiana, dried shrimp are often added by Cajun cooks to gumbo, to add an intense salty flavor.