Salt and pepper shrimps are a popular Chinese dish featuring crispy, lightly battered shrimp seasoned with a blend of salt, pepper, and aromatic spices. Often garnished with sliced chili and garlic, this flavorful and crunchy dish is a favorite for its savory taste and delightful texture.
I would start by preparing the shrimp, ensuring they were clean and deveined. Coating them in a light batter, I carefully fry them until they are golden and crispy. The aroma of the sizzling shrimp can be mouthwatering. As I season them with a blend of salt, pepper, and aromatic spices, the kitchen would be filled with an enticing fragrance. The final touch is adding sliced chili and garlic, which adds a burst of flavor and color. Tasting the crispy, savory shrimp can be incredibly satisfying.
I personally like The Woks of Life. You just might come to see more recipes from this website that I have tried-and-tasted and thus recommend here. For the salt and pepper shrimps, this recipe is the one that I go to. That’s one straightforward, easy Chinese dish for you, heeeyah!
Salt and Pepper Shrimps
Ingredients
- For the salt and pepper mixture:
- 2 parts whole peppercorns
- 1 part sea salt For the rest of the dish:
- 1 pound large shrimp (450g; shells on and deveined, with or without heads)
- 3 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch
- 1/3 cup oil (for shallow frying)
- salt and pepper mixture (to taste)
- 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 long hot green or red pepper (thinly sliced)
Directions
- To make the salt and pepper mixture:
- In a small pot over medium low heat, dry roast the whole peppercorns of your choice for 15 minutes, until very fragrant. Take care not to burn them, adjusting the heat as needed. Cool completely and use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the peppercorns down to a powder.
- In the same pot over medium heat, dry roast the salt until it turns slightly yellow in color. Let it cool and combine it with the ground pepper. You now have your own authentic salt and pepper powder, which you can use in whatever “salt and pepper” dish you like. The rest of the recipe is really easy. To prepare the dish:
- Rinse the shrimp and pat them thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Dredge them in potato starch or cornstarch––whatever you’re using.
- Heat the oil in a small cast iron skillet to 375 degrees. Quickly lay the shrimp in the oil with about an inch of space in between each shrimp, and fry the shrimp in batches, cooking each side for 30 seconds. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate, and sprinkle with salt and pepper powder to taste.
- In the wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Fry the garlic until just golden brown (careful not to burn it!), and set aside to drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Remove any excess oil from the wok, so there’s only a tablespoon or so left (you don’t want to use too much oil at this stage, as this is a “dry” dish). Add the peppers to the wok. Turn off the heat, and add the garlic back to the wok, stir-frying everything together for a minute. Add the shrimp to the wok, and gently toss everything for 10 seconds, sprinkling over a bit more of your salt and pepper mixture. Serve!
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