Szechuan Shrimp

This is Szechuan shrimp the way Chinese restaurants actually make it. The shrimp get a proper velvet treatment: marinated in egg, tapioca flour, sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine, then passed through hot peanut oil until barely pink and impossibly tender.

Back in the wok with ginger, garlic, and green onions, the fragrance alone will pull people into the kitchen. Hot bean paste and ketchup might sound like strange bedfellows, but together they create that signature glossy, sweet-spicy-savory sauce that clings to every shrimp.

A sizzle of rice wine right at the end sends up a burst of steam and aroma that seals the deal. This is wok cooking at its most authentic.

Chef Tips

• Velveting in oil is the restaurant secret for tender shrimp. Don’t skip it. The shrimp go in for just seconds until barely pink, then get pulled out immediately. Overcooking here undoes everything.
• Use Kadoya brand sesame oil and Pearl River Bridge light soy sauce if you can find them. These are pantry staples in Chinese kitchens for good reason.
• Tapioca flour gives a lighter, crispier coating than cornstarch. If you can’t find it, cornstarch works as a substitute but the texture will be slightly different.