Honey Walnut Shrimp
The Cantonese word for "shrimp (虾 hā)" resembles the words for "laughing out loud (哈哈笑 hā hā siu)", so it's a symbol of having a lively time filled with laughter. Similarly, the Cantonese word for "walnut (合桃 hahp tòuh)" is composed in part by the word "together (合 hahp)", so it's related to the phrase, "百年好合 baak nìhn hóu hahp". This is a common wish for newlyweds to have 100 great years of marriage.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Shrimp | $14.99 |
| Salt | $2.19 |
| Walnuts | $3.69 |
| Honey | $4.29 |
| Sesame Seeds | $2.49 |
Assuming you're starting with peeled, deveined shrimp (20 piece) (which is what my dad recommends), cut each shrimp in half lengthwise. This will help result in a more beautiful, crunchy fry. In a bowl, mix salt (0.25 tsp) with the shrimp.
In a bowl, we'll mix mayonnaise (4 tbsp), sweetened condensed milk (3 tbsp), and lemon juice (2 tsp).
In a bowl, we'll beat our egg(s). In another bowl, we'll mix all purpose flour (4 tbsp), cornstarch (2 tbsp), baking powder (2 tsp), corn oil (2 tsp), water (7 tbsp), and the portion of eggs that we need. We'll mix until the consistency is smooth. You may need to add dashes of water to get it to the consistency that you want, which is like a thin pancake batter.
We'll fill a pan or wok with enough oil to submerge the walnuts, and heat it to around 300° F (148° C). Then, we'll fry our walnuts (3 oz) twice, once to cook them, a second time to make them crunchier. #1 - Fry for 3-4 minutes. Scoop the walnuts out with a strainer ladle, and let the oil reheat to 300° F (148° C). #2 - Mix the walnuts with the honey (2 tbsp) (or sugar syrup). Fry for about 2 minutes. Scoop out the walnuts. If you can, you'll want to monitor the temperature of the oil. We don't want to let the walnuts cook in oil that's too hot, otherwise they'll burn.
Read before you start frying shrimp Ideally, for frying the shrimp, you'll want to use another pan or wok, or clean the pan/wok you were using before frying. If you stick with the same container, there will be some charred honey/sugar at the bottom, which will stick onto the shrimp and result in a more muddied look after frying. If you're using a second pan/wok, carefully pour some of the oil from the first pan/wok into the second one, being sure not to let any of the honey/sugar pour in.
Mix and coat the shrimp with the sauce from earlier, and add the candied walnuts and sesame seeds.