Honey Walnut Shrimp / Walnut Prawn Recipe (核桃虾)

Recipe: Honey Walnut Shrimp/Walnut Prawn (核桃虾)

Ingredients:

1 lb. 31/40 count shrimp/prawn
1/2 cup Walnut halves (make sure you get the walnut halves)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon condensed milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg white
1/2 cup corn starch (for coating the prawn)
Oil for frying

For the Walnuts:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Method:

1. Peel and deveined the shrimp/prawn. Pat dry with paper towels, add the egg white, mix well with the shrimp and set aside.
2. Rinse the walnut halves with water, drain and set aside.
3. Heat up the water until it boils and add in the sugar.
4. Keep stirring until it turns thick and golden color and then add the walnut.
5. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain and place walnuts on a cookie sheet/parchment paper to dry. (Regular paper will not work as the walnut will stick to it).
6. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat.
7. Coat the shrimp with a thick layer of corn flour and then and then fry in the hot oil until golden brown. Remove the shrimps from the wok and drain on paper towels.
8. In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey, condensed milk and lemon juice.
9. Add shrimp and toss with the mayonnaise sauce.
10. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish the candied walnuts on top of the shrimp and serve immediately.

Cook’s Note:

To get more bang for your buck, you can buy frozen shrimp in a pre-packed box. The frozen shrimp usually comes in a frozen block. During sales, a box of 31/40 count shrimp can be as low as US$15/box.

Garlic Shrimp

Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients:

8 oz. medium-size shrimp (head on, shell on, slit the back of the shrimp and deveined)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/8 teaspoon sugar or to taste
1/2 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
Some chopped scallions

Method:

Rinse the shrimp with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Heat up a wok with olive oil or butter. Lightly saute the chopped garlic until aromatic. Add shrimp into the wok and stir well with the garlic and add rice wine. Cover the wok with its lid and cook for about 1 minute. Add chopped scallions, and salt and sugar to taste. Dish out and serve garlic shrimp immediately.

Pan-fried Prawns Recipe (干烧虾)

Recipe: Pan-fried Prawns (Fresh Water Prawns)/干烧虾

Ingredients:

6 fresh water prawns (or jumbo prawns or big prawns)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine or shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chopped scallions
1 teaspoon cooking oil

Method:

Heat up a wok with cooking oil. Drop in the chopped garlic and lightly saute till light brown. Add in the fresh water prawns, soy sauce, wine, sugar and do a few quick stir. Use the wok turner to press each prawn down (pan-frying) for both sides of the prawn. Add in the chopped scallions and serve hot.

Cook’s Note:

The wok will get really dry and the prawns might appear burned but it’s fine as it will add that “charred” flavor to the prawns.

Dragon Well Tea Shrimp Recipe (龙井虾仁)

Recipe: Long Jing Xia Ren (龙井虾仁) / Dragon Well Tea Shrimp

Ingredients:

1/2 lb raw, peeled & frozen baby shrimp
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 teaspoons oil
1 heaped tablespoon Longjing tea leaves
1/4 cup hot water
Some chopped scallion
1 tablespoon egg white
1 teaspoon corn starch

Method:

Defrost the frozen shrimp, rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels. Add corn starch and egg white to the shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes. Prepare the tea in a small tea pot by adding 1/4 cup hot water to the tea leaves. Set aside for 5 minutes and then filter the tea and set aside for the stir-fry.

Heat up 1 teaspoon cooking oil in a wok and toss in the shrimp. Do a few quick stir until the shrimp is 50% cooked, dish out and set aside. Wash the wok and heat it up again with the remaining 1 teaspoon cooking oil. Add the shrimp back into the wok, and quickly follow by the tea, Shaoxing wine, salt, and chopped scallion. Do a quick stir over high heat until the shrimp is cooked, dish out and serve immediately.

Ginger and Scallion Crab Recipe (姜葱蟹)

Ginger and Scallion Crab Recipe (姜葱蟹)

Ingredients:

1 crab (about 1 1/2 – 2 pounds)
2 inches ginger (peeled and sliced into 10-12 pieces)
3 stalks scallion (cut into 2-inch length)
3 tablespoons corn starch (for frying)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Oil for deep frying

Sauce:

1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 dashes white pepper powder
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon corn starch
1/8 teaspoon fish sauce

Method:

Mix the sauce and set aside.

Clean the crab and cut into pieces. Pat dry with paper towels and put into a big bowl. Add the corn flour to the bowl and lightly coat the crab pieces with it. Heat up a wok and add cooking oil. When the oil is heated, drop the crab pieces and deep fry. As soon as they turn red, dish out, strain the excess oil and set aside.

Heat up a wok and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the ginger and stir-fry until aromatic. Put the crab pieces into the wok and quickly stir a few times before adding the sauce. Add the chopped scallions, toss the crab in the wok a few times until well coated with the sauce, dish out and serve immediately.

Steamed Scallops with Soy Sauce and Garlic Oil Recipe

Recipe: Steamed Scallops with Soy Sauce and Garlic Oil

Ingredients:

6-8 scallops on the half shell
1 stalk scallion (cut diagonally)
3 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce (Kim Lan brand recommended)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon water
3 gloves garlic (chopped finely)
2 tablespoon oil

Method:

Mix the soy sauce, sugar, water and blend well. Set aside. Heat up a wok, add in the oil and stir fry the chopped garlic until light brown. Dish out and set aside. Lay the scallops on a plate, add the soy sauce on each of them and steam for 4-5 minutes or as soon as the scallops turn opaque. Add some garlic oil and chopped scallions on each scallop and serve immediately.

Cook’s notes:

As different brand of soy sauce has different sodium level, please taste the soy sauce mixture so it’s not too salty. If it’s too salty, add more sugar or a little water to neutralize the saltiness. Personally, I use Kim Lan soy sauce.
For the garlic oil, dish it out as soon as the chopped garlic turns light brown. They will continue to cook in the oil and will eventually turn golden brown.

Steamed Scallops with Fermented Black Beans Recipe

Recipe: Steamed Scallops with Fermented Black Beans

Ingredients:

6 diver scallops
1 stalk scallion (cut into threads)
1 inch young ginger (shredded)
1 pack enoki mushrooms (cut off the roots)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine or sake
1 teaspoon fermented black beans (rinsed with water and mashed)

Method:

Spread the enoki mushrooms evenly on a plate. Arrange the scallops on top of the enoki mushrooms. Top the scallops with shredded ginger and mashed fermented black beans. Sprinkle rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar over the scallops. Steam for 5 minutes. Garnish with scallions and serve hot.