Recipe - Chinese - Cantonese Style Walnut Shrimp

Two good Chinese-American friends of mine got married several years back, and of course they had a traditional Chinese Banquet as part of the Nupital celebration. The banquet was held at a fairly large, authentic Chinese Restaurant, kind of local to the Washington DC area. On the menu at the banquet were some of the more traditional Cantonese dishes (No General Tso's here...much to the dismay of the Best Man) as well as a few, more "off the beaten path" dishes like roast pigeon, jellyfish, etc. While all of the food was authentic and amazing, through the smorgasbord of Cantonese culinary delight there was one dish that I had never had previously and that really struck a chord in my palate...the creamy Walnut Shrimp. MMmmm...butterflied, battered and deep fried shimp covered in a creamy, tasty, probably really bad for you, sauce. What more could one want other than a steaming hot bowl of white rice to accompany it? Seeing as no other restaurant in the area around Baltimore (that I knew of at least) had Walnut Shrimp on the menu, I was forced to learn to make it myself to satisfy my new-found craving for this culinary masterpiece. This recipe is the result of that small journey into "How the hell do I make Walnut Shrimp?" land...

At the time, I figured it would be easy to find a recipe for the dish online somewhere (this was back in '01). I thought, "How hard could it be to figure out, really? The sauce is definitely mayonnaise based." Now, I was right with the mayonnaise base, but it's the other ingredients in the sauce that really bring out the flavor (and the brilliance) of this dish. At this point, I must make a small point and disclaimer. I am no Chef by any stretch of the imagination, nor would I ever refer to myself as a "Chef". I am merely a food fanatic that kinda knows my way around a kitchen and likes to try and make things myself when it isn't readily available to me. At best, i'm a "cook". In my opinion, the title of "chef" is best reserved for people that are formally trained in the culinart arts...people that have spent years mastering their craft. It's a title that deserves respect in the food world. Unfortunately, it's a title that I think is used way too loosely these days. But I digress. Time to step down from the soap box.

My first few attempts at this dish failed miserably. On my very first attempt, the shirmp was good, but the sauce was a nightmare. For that initial trial run, I used solely mayo as the sauce...heated up in a saucepan then mixed in with the battered and fried shrimp. While the first bite may have tasted slightly similar, it definitely was far off the mark, and by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th bites I started to feel downright ill from the excess concentration of mayo swimming around in my belly. Over the next few iterations, I added ingredients that I picked up from different sources until I finally got a sauce that I liked...that tasted the way I remembered it from the banquet. So, on to the recipe!

Here is my list of ingredients. Serves 6 (or 4 really hungry people like myself):

2lbs of uncooked shrimp (of whatever size you fancy)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 cup Japanese "Kewpie" Mayonnaise
1/2 can (14oz can) of sweetened condensed milk
15 drops of lemon juice
1 head of broccoli (used mainly as a garnish)
1/2 bag of whole walnuts (also a garnish)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water

Again, I must say that I am no chef. There is probably a right way to do the steps involved in this dish (like candying the walnuts). This is just the way that I, an untrained "cook" do it because, frankly, I don't know the proper way to do it. I just kinda wing things based on how I think it might go down. If you know a better way, feel free to knock yourself out...

First off, the shrimp. I usually choose a medium size shrimp, or whatever is the largest I can get a good deal on. They need to be uncooked so we can butterfly and de-vein them before frying. If your shrimp is shelled, first remove the shells. Then, take your handy kitchen knife and make a slice, lengthwise in the center down the back of each shrimp from the head to the tail. The slice should go almost all the way through the shrimp. This serves two purposes. First, it de-veins the shimp (the main vein runs down the top of the back of the shrimp). Second, it causes the shrimp meat to curl when cooked...creating the nice, butterflied shape. After cutting all of the shrimp, prepare a pot (big enough to fit all of the shrimp) of boiling water.
Once the water boils, drop the cut shrimp into the boiling water for a few seconds (only for a few seconds! We're not trying to fully cook the shrimp yet). The shrimp will change color and attain that aformentioned butterfly shape. After the few seconds have passed, pour the shrimp into a strainer and run them under cold water to cool them.

Next, we'll batter and fry the shrmp. Set up a pot with cooking oil (the oil should be at least 2-3" deep) on med-high heat to fry the shrimp in. Mix the flour and corn starch in a bowl. This mixture will serve as the batter for the shrimp. In a seperate bowl, scramble the 2 eggs. Once the pot of oil is hot enough (you can test it by dripping a little bit of egg into the oil), dip the shrimp (I usually do 5 or 6 at a time to make it more manageable in a small kitchen) in the egg, then in the flour/corn starch mix, and drop it (one at a time so they don't stick to each other) into the frying oil. Fry the shrimp till they attain a nice golden color (see picture) then fish them out and put the shrimp onto a paper toweled plate (to absorb some of the excess oil) and set aside.

Now for the sauce...that oh, so dreamy sauce. The basic ingredient of the sauce is mayonnaise but I must specify that I prefer to use Japanese style mayo. Why you ask? Japanese mayo is smoother, creamier, and tastier than regular mayo so it is the perfect basis for this sauce. I've never tried making it with regular Mayo though so I have no idea how it would turn out if done that way. If you try it with regular mayo, do so at your own risk...but let me know how it turns out. I'm curious. Anyway, in a mixing bowl mix the japanese mayo with the lemon juice. Then add the condensed milk, slowly mixing it all together. Taste it as you mix the condensed milk in. You can add as little or as much condensed milk as you like depending on your tastes. I prefer it to be a little on the sweet side so I ad the condensed milk till it tastes just right.

Next up, the garnishes. The dish is garnished by broccoli and candied walnuts (as pictured). Cut the broccoli and boil it in a pot of water for a few minutes or till it is the consistency you prefer then strain and put aside. Then, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the brown sugar and water. Let the sugar dissolve in the water first then add the whole walnuts. keep turning the walnuts in the sugared water till most of the water boils off (this also cooks the walnuts a bit). Once it has gotten pretty thick and sticky, remove from heat and keep stirring and turning the walnuts till it is cooled enough that the walnuts are no longer sticking to each other and they have an even coat of candying (note: pics are of a whole bag of walnuts. You will have less walnuts in your pan if you follow the ingredients list).

Now it's time to put it all together. Mix the fried shrimp into the sauce (you don't have to use all of the sauce if you so desire) and place the sauced shrimp onto the middle of an appropriately sized serving platter. Dress the outer edge of the platter with broccoli and garnish the entree with the candied walnuts and it's ready to serve. Oh, and please, please, PLEASE...whatever you do, do NOT serve this with anything other than a side of proper steamed white rice. And proper definitely means it shouldn't come from a box that is either made by an uncle named Ben, or as a treat from San Francisco if you know what I mean.

Anyway, that completes the first recipe installment for my blog. I hope you enjoy making and eating this dish as much as I do. It makes a great party dish that is always a big hit with the masses. If someone asks you where you got the recipe, feel free to point them here. Also, feel free to post comments or feedback on his dish too...I'd love to hear it. Enjoy!