salt & pepper shrimp

ingredients

✦ shrimp

  • 1 lb shrimp (head-on; trim horns/antennas)

  • Shaoxing wine (for marinade)

  • Green onions & ginger (for marinade)

  • Salt (for washing the shrimp)

  • Garlic & shallots, minced

  • Red pepper & green pepper

  • Cornstarch

  • Baking powder

✦ salt & pepper seasoning

  • 1 part salt

  • 2 parts sugar

  • ½ part black pepper

  • Sichuan peppercorns

  • Cumin seeds

  • White sesame seeds (toast, then add after ~10 minutes)

  • MSG (to taste)

cooking steps

shrimp

  1. Prep your shrimp however you like! To de-vein, just slide a tweezer or knife along the back and pull out the vein. I usually snip off the antennas and legs, but you can leave the legs on for extra crunch.

  2. Rinse the shrimp well, then marinate with Shaoxing wine, scallion, and ginger for about 15–20 minutes.

  3. While that’s marinating, mince your garlic, shallot, and chop up the red + green peppers.

  4. Take the scallion and ginger out of the shrimp. Add cornstarch and a little baking powder—just enough to coat evenly (don’t overdo it!)

  5. Heat oil in your wok and fry the shrimp until golden brown on both sides.

  6. Pull them out, reheat the oil, and fry them again (double fry = extra crispy!).

  7. Toss the shrimp with homemade salt & pepper seasoning. If you’re short on time, you can just mix salt, black pepper, sesame seeds, sugar, and cumin—it still works great, but the homemade version is so worth it.

  8. Serve hot with Lee Kum Kee Honey Sriracha Sauce or Sriracha Mayo for dipping. So delicious!

homemade salt & pepper

  1. Toast a handful of Sichuan peppercorns in a dry wok over medium heat. Add ½ tbsp cumin seeds and ½ tbsp sesame seeds, then toast until fragrant.

  2. once you start to smell the flavor, Sprinkle in a little MSG and about 2 tsp sugar.

  3. Crush everything with a rolling pin or blitz in a grinder until well mixed - and just like that you’ve got a super tasty homemade salt & pepper!