Salt and Pepper Shrimp Chinese Recipe: Salty and Spicy Shrimp!

Salt and pepper shrimp is the perfect dish for a crowd. You can even replace popcorn with salt and pepper shrimp while binge-watching your favorite movies or series. Till now, you might have been ordering salt and pepper shrimp from restaurants. After today, you don’t need to do that anymore.

I have brought the salt and pepper shrimp Chinese recipe. It is an easy and quick recipe that you can make in just a few minutes. Whether you have a sudden party at home or want to make something during a busy schedule, this is the perfect recipe. Let’s make some crispy shrimp.

Recipe Overview

The following chart has the key information about this recipe. With this information, you can plan the quantity of the ingredients according to your serving needs.

Course: Snack	Cuisine: Chinese		Difficulty: Easy
Total Time: 20 minutes
Serving		Preparation Time	Cooking Time	Calories
2 persons		10 minutes	10 minutes	173.3 kcal

Ingredients Needed for the Recipe

I have used ingredients that are commonly available in any Chinese kitchen. Here is the list.

• Shrimp: 200g, peeled and deveined
• Salt: ½ tsp
• Cornstarch: 1 tbsp
• Cooking Oil: 250ml
• Garlic: ½ tsp, minced
• Chili: 4-5 dried red chili peppers
• Onion: 1 large onion, cut into petals
• Bell Pepper: 2 bell peppers, diced
• Pepper: ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• Five Spice: ½ tsp of Chinese five spice powder
• Sugar: ½ tsp

Tools and Utensils Needed for the Recipe

You should keep the following tools and utensils ready to make this recipe.

1. A kitchen knife
2. A chopping board
3. A medium bowl
4. A wok
5. A strainer
6. Paper towels
7. Measuring spoons

Salt and Pepper Shrimp Chinese Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions

Let’s start by preparing the shrimp for the recipe.

Step 1: Clean the Shrimp

This is the hardest part of the recipe. Peel the shrimp and pull the vein out. If you can buy cleaned and deveined shrimp from supermarkets, making this recipe will be easier.

You Can Also Try: Shrimp and Egg Noodle Recipe

Step 2: Coat and Fry the Shrimp

Sprinkle some salt over the shrimp. Then, add cornstarch to the shrimp and toss them to coat properly. Pour oil into a wok and heat it. Add the coated shrimp to the oil and fry them until they have a golden brown color. Then, strain them out and place them on a paper towel.

Step 3: Fry the Spices and Vegetables

Put a few drops of oil in the wok. Add the minced garlic and dried red chilies to the wok. Also, add diced onions and bell peppers to the wok. Stir-fry these ingredients for a few minutes.

Step 4: Add the Shrimp and Seasonings

Add the fried shrimp back to the wok. Make a seasoning mix with salt, black pepper, Chinese five-spice powder, and sugar. Add the seasoning mix to the wok and toss it a few times. After frying everything for a few minutes, delicious salt and pepper shrimp will be ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts of the Recipe

Each serving of salt and pepper shrimp provides 173.3 calories. It also has a lot of protein. You will get a clear idea of the nutrients from the following list.

• Total Carbohydrates: 10g
• Protein: 21.3g
• Total Fat: 5.2g
• Saturated Fat: 0.8g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.9g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 1.2g
• Trans Fat: 0.1g
• Total Dietary Fiber: 0.7g
• Total Sugar: 0.1g
• Cholesterol: 186.7mg
• Sodium: 2653.3mg
• Potassium: 204.2mg
• Calcium: 163mg
• Iron: 2.4mg
• Vitamin A: 213IU
• Vitamin C: 45mg

You might have already noticed that this dish is too high in sodium. The daily requirement for sodium in an adult person is 1800mg. But just one serving of this dish has more sodium than that. So, eating this dish too frequently can be harmful to your heart health.

Especially if you have high blood pressure or other heart diseases, you should avoid this dish. However, it has some essential minerals and vitamins that might be helpful. So, you can eat salt and pepper shrimp occasionally if the amount of salt is minimal.

Do’s and Don’ts of the Recipe

You can make better salt and pepper shrimp if you follow these tips.

Do’s

• If you are using frozen shrimp, let the shrimp thaw for about 15-20 minutes. Otherwise, the outside will be fried quickly and the inside will remain raw.
• You can use roughly chopped scallions in this recipe to make it more fragrant. Add the scallions at the end so that they don’t become soggy.

Don’ts

• Don’t use soy sauce for this recipe. This is a dry recipe and doesn’t need any gravy.
• Don’t fry the shrimp for too long. Otherwise, the shrimp will be rubbery or chewy. Shrimp gets cooked in just 30-45 seconds.

Can I Use Flour Instead of Cornstarch for This Recipe?

Yes. You can use flour if cornstarch isn’t available. However, the texture of the coating and the crunch won’t be the same. If you use cornstarch to coat the shrimp, the coating will be much lighter and crunchier after frying the shrimp.

With a flour coating, the fried shrimp will be less crunchy and dense. So, I recommend using cornstarch for this recipe.

Do I Need to Marinate the Shrimp Before Frying Them?

No, you don’t need to marinate the shrimp before frying them. You should season the shrimp with salt and coat them with cornstarch. Then, you can fry the shrimp directly. 

But if you make salt and pepper chicken or pork following the same recipe, you can marinate those proteins for some time. Shrimp gets cooked very easily, so it doesn’t need any marination.

Can I Fry All the Shrimp At Once?

If you put all the coated shrimp in the wok at the same time, it might overcrowd the pan. As a result, the oil temperature will go down. The shrimp may get cooked properly, but the crunchy coating will not form if the oil temperature is low.

So, I recommend frying the shrimp in batches if you are using a lot of shrimp. Make sure the oil temperature is hot enough to make the coating crunchy.

What Can I Serve with This Salt and Pepper Shrimp Recipe?

This dish is usually served as a snack. So, you don’t need to serve any main or side dishes with this. However, you should serve a dipping sauce with this recipe. It can be a simple garlic mayo or a cheese dip.

You can also combine ketchup and mayonnaise to make a simple dipping sauce for this salty and spicy shrimp recipe.

Discussion Recap

Salt and pepper shrimp is a popular takeout recipe we love to eat in our busy afternoons or as a midnight snack. If you know this salt and pepper shrimp Chinese recipe, you can make this yummy snack at home any time. This recipe needs only a few ingredients and seasonings.

Also, the steps for making this dish are so easy. You just need to coat the shrimp in cornstarch and fry them first. Then, you need to stir-fry the aromatics and shrimp with a few seasonings.