Szechuan Shrimp with Chili Sauce
Submitted by kerschen
Restaurant-style Szechuan shrimp flash-fried in peanut oil and tossed in a fiery chili-hoisin sauce with ginger, garlic, and dried chilies. An authentic Chinese wok recipe with serious heat.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
35 minREADY
45 minThis is the real deal. Not the watered-down takeout version, but the kind of Szechuan shrimp that makes your lips tingle and your forehead sweat in the best possible way.
Butterflied shrimp get a triple salt wash (a classic Chinese technique for snappy, clean-tasting shellfish), then flash-fry in screaming-hot peanut oil for just 20 seconds until barely cooked through.
The sauce is where the magic lives: hoisin, chili paste, fish sauce, sesame oil, and Shaoxing wine blended into a complex, layered heat that’s savory and sweet and fiery all at once.
Toss it all together with stir-fried ginger, garlic, scallions, and whole dried chilies for a plate that looks and tastes like it came straight from a Chengdu kitchen.
Pro Tips
- The salt wash is essential. Rinsing the shrimp with salt multiple times removes any off-flavors and gives them that distinctive crisp, bouncy texture you get at Chinese restaurants.
- Flash-fry fast. Twenty seconds in hot oil is all you need. Overcooked shrimp are the enemy here.
- Leave the water clinging. Don’t pat the shrimp dry after the final rinse. That thin layer of moisture creates a slight steam effect in the hot oil that keeps the interior tender.
- Have everything prepped before you heat the wok. This recipe moves at wok speed. Once the oil is hot, there’s no time to chop.
Ingredients
Directions
Peel, devein and butterfly the shrimp.
Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt, allow to stand for ½ hour.
During this time, prepare the sauce: mix together the hoisin sauce, chili sauce, Shao Hsing, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, peanut oil, hot chili oil, sugar, and the MSG.
In a wok heat 4 cups of peanut oil to 375℉ (190℃).
When the shrimp are ready to cook thoroughly wash off salt with cold water.
Add another teaspoon salt to shrimp and let sit 30 seconds, and wash off the salt.
Repeat this procedure twice more.
The final time drain well but do not dry, let some water cling to the shrimp.
Immerse half the shrimp into the hot oil, and cook until just past translucent, about 20 seconds.
Remove. Add the other half of the shrimp.
The oil will not be as hot, so this portion may need 30 seconds to finish cooking.
Remove.
Drain all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the wok.
Over very high heat, stir fry the ginger, garlic, scallions and dried chilies for one minute.
Add the reserved shrimp and toss, add the sauce to coat shrimp and serve.
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