To defrost shrimp really quickly, you can soak them in cold water for 10 minutes. However, this will also remove a lot of the shrimp flavor. My preferred method for quickly defrosting shrimp is to spread them out on a plate in room temperature for 1 hour. After 1 hour, there will still be ice around the shrimp - but the shrimp itself will be thawed. At this point I peel off the ice with my fingers, and then pat the shrimp dry.