Abstract:A new shelling technology was developed for Penaeus vannamei based on ultrasound-assisted papain hydrolysis.The control variable method was employed to optimize the shelling process.The results indicated that the optimal shelling process was as follows：a papain concentration of 0.75 mg/mL，a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1∶6（g/mL），hydrolysis time of 3 h，ultrasonication time of 40 min，and ultrasonic power of 300 W.Furthermore，the effects of ultrasound-assisted papain hydrolysis on the physicochemical properties of shrimp meat were studied.The results indicated that the pH values of the three groups of shrimp meat were 7.01，6.94，and 7.00，which showed no significant differences.The shrimp meat in the fresh control group had the worst color，while that in the ultrasound-assisted papain group had the best color，showing superior L*，a*，and b* values over the other two groups.In addition，the ultrasound-assisted papain group outperformed the other two groups in terms of the juice loss rate and water-holding capacity of shrimp meat，which were 2.32%and 3.22%，respectively.