Description
Discover the crispy, umami-packed Salt and Pepper Shrimp recipe with whole edible shells, fragrant spices, and that perfect Cantonese crunch.
Ingredients
Units Scale
- 2 tsp whole peppercorns (white, black, and/or Sichuan)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 500 g shrimps (shells on, heads optional)
- 3 tbsp potato starch or cornstarch
- 1/2 cup oil (for frying)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 long hot chili (green or red), thinly sliced
Instructions
- Dry roast whole peppercorns over medium-low heat for 15 minutes until fragrant. Cool.
- Dry roast sea salt until slightly yellow, cool.
- Grind peppercorns finely, then mix with salt. Set aside.
- Rinse shrimp and pat dry thoroughly.
- Dredge shrimp in potato starch, shaking off excess.
- Heat oil to 190°C then fry shrimp in batches, 30 seconds per side, until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels.
- Immediately sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper mix.
- In a wok, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Fry garlic until golden. Drain and set aside.
- Remove excess oil from wok, leaving about 1 tbsp. Add sliced chili. Turn off heat, add garlic back, stir quickly.
- Add shrimp to wok, toss gently for 10 seconds with garlic and chili mixture. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper mix if desired. Serve immediately.