Chinese style, Panda Express inspired recipe in 30 minutes
What You’ll Need
- Shrimp: peeled and deveined
- Sake: I always marinate my fish or shrimp in sake before cooking to get rid of the fishy odor
- Salt
- Walnuts: In this recipe I used walnut halves. Chopped walnuts might be too small but whole walnuts work great too.
- Sugar
- Water
- Honey
- Condensed milk
- Japanese mayo: Kewpie brand
- Lemon juice
- Egg whites: From regular eggs, no need for a carton
- High heat frying oil: High smoke point oils like avocado, grapeseed, or canola.
How to Make Honey Walnut Shrimp
Start by marinating the shrimp in sake and salt. I always do this for fish and seafood to remove any fishy smell or taste and incorporate a delicate flavor. Set this aside while you prepare the candied walnuts and sauce.
To make candied walnuts, combine water, honey, and sugar over medium heat. Mix with a wooden spoon often. You can add in the walnuts immediately and allow everything to cook down together, however in this recipe I let half the water to evaporate prior to adding in the walnuts.
Once the walnuts are caramelized, remove from heat and set aside.
To make the sauce, mix together condensed milk, Japanese mayo, and lemon juice. You can adjust the ingredients to your liking. I like my sauce a little more on the sweet side with extra lemon juice.
Now we begin our frying process. Start by combining corn starch and the whites of two large eggs to make the batter. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat until it reaches 350ºF.
Dip each shrimp into the batter, letting any excess batter drip off. Fry shrimp until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes).
Drizzle sauce over the fried shrimp and mix until combined. Top with candied walnuts.
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Ingredients
- ½ lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp sake can skip if unavailable
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup walnut halves
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp condensed milk
- ¼ cup Japanese mayo
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 2 whites of eggs
- 1 cup oil for frying – use more if needed
Instructions
- Marinate shrimp in sake and salt. Set aside
Candied Walnuts
- Over medium heat, combine water, sugar, and honey. Mix periodically and cook until half of the water has evaporated.
- Add in walnuts and cook until it caramelizes.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Make the Sauce
- Mix together condensed milk, Japanese mayo, and lemon juice. Set aside.
Cook the Shrimp
- To make the batter, mix together egg whites and corn starch.
- Heat frying oil over medium-high heat to until it reaches 350ºF.
- Coat each shrimp in the batter, scrape excess batter off the side of the bowl, and place into the frying oil.
- Fry until both sides are golden brown (about 4-5 minutes)
- Once the shrimps have all been fried, pour sauce over, and mix until coated.
- Top with candied walnuts and enjoy!
