Soy Sauce-Braised Shell-On Shrimp and Scallions
“Put me back, put me back!” These shrimp won’t be going back to the ocean. They swim in soy sauce now. [Photo credit: Alex Paternostro]
by Seth Paternostro
November 17, 2021
Growing up, shrimp was always a luxury. My mother would sometimes buy pre-cooked frozen shrimp, but that, along with bouncy scallops and an occasional crab leg from who-knows-where, was the extent of our seafood escapades. The first time I enjoyed a standard abundance of shrimp was the summer that I spent in Shanghai. The academic exchange center where I stayed occasionally prepared a sweet shrimp curry braise. While that dish was often served at a cool room temperature, (spoiler alert) we do not recommend leaving shellfish out for a few hours before your guests arrive. The following dish is also not a curry, but it brings me back to those happy days of tasting more than a few chewy shrimp at a time.
Serves 4
Total time
30 minutes
Equipment:
cutting board, chef’s knife or cleaver, small mixing bowls, wok shovel, large mixing bowl, clean towels, large well-seasoned carbon steel wok, wok stand (if needed), “grease gutter” (small pan to pour off used oil), scissors, squirt bottle (for fresh oil)
Tableware:
warm serving plate, utensils
Ingredients
12 oz. shell-on shrimp
1-inch ginger
4 scallions
1 clove garlic
2 tbsps Shaoxing wine
2 tbsps light soy sauce
¼ tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsps oyster sauce
¼ tsp rice wine vinegar
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp sugar
Kosher salt, as needed
Peanut oil, as needed
Instructions
Set out all equipment, tableware, and ingredients.
Use the scissors to cut along the back of the shrimp, remove the vein, and clip the legs, then place the shrimp in a large mixing bowl.
Combine 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, the soy sauces, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, white pepper, and sugar in a small bowl. Taste, and adjust to your liking.
Peel the garlic and ginger. Slice the garlic, then finely julienne the ginger and scallion whites. Thinly slice the scallions greens on the bias for garnish.
Preheat the wok over high heat until smoking, swirl in a small amount of oil to coat, and pour out excess in the “grease-gutter,” which can be placed at the center-back region of the stove.
Add 4 tbsps of oil, and heat until shimmering.
Carefully slide the shrimp into the wok, immediately spreading them out in approximately a single layer. Gently swirl the oil to coat the shrimp evenly.
Cook until the bottom side of the shrimp is opaque and slightly colored, then flip to cook the other side. Drizzle 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine around the edges, then toss.
Add the ginger, garlic, and scallion whites. Toss briefly until fragrant, then add the sauce.
Simmer over medium-low for a few minutes until the shrimp have absorbed the sauce’s flavor. Taste, and adjust as desired.
Remove to the serving plate, then garnish with the scallion greens.
Enjoy this dish with some rice. Yum.
NUTRITION FACTS:
Calories 282 Total Fat 6.8g (9%) Saturated Fat 1.2g (6%) Cholesterol 540mg (180%) Sodium 515mg (22%) Total Carbohydrate 3g (1%) Dietary Fiber 0.5g (2%) Total Sugars 1.5g Protein 51.5g Vitamin D 0mcg (0%) Calcium 133mg (10%) Iron 0mg (2%) Potassium 52mg (1%) - Note: Please read our Nutrition Disclaimer.
Seth Paternostro is a writer and recipe developer based in Chicago. He is a co-founder of Our American Cuisine and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies. You can learn more about him here.
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