Honey Walnut Shrimp

Ingredients for Honey Walnut Shrimp

These Honey Walnut Shrimp are a Chinese banquet classic and so easy to make at home!! Here is what you’ll need for the recipe:

Shrimp

• 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined – Shrimp will need to be raw, peeled, and deveined. It’s OK to use frozen, as long as it is completely defrosted before cooking! I’m using U-12 or U-10.
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper – I get asked all the time if you can sub black pepper for white pepper – and my answer is, it depends BUT you need to watch the ratio. White pepper has a milder flavor profile than black pepper, so it’s a 1-1 substitute. I would start with less black pepper and add as you go. (But really, you should have white pepper in your pantry! It’s a staple in mine!)
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch – The cornstarch batter is the KEY ingredient to my version of this dish – when testing the recipe, I found that cornstarch made the shrimp lighter and crispier than some versions I’ve had at restaurants. This helped balance out the richness of the mayo-based sauce.
• 1 tbsp neutral oil

Shrimp Coating

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Candied Walnuts

I like to make my own walnuts, so I included the instructions to do so. If you have the time or energy, I highly recommend making them at home because you can control for how sweet they are (I find that some store bought versions are too sweet for my taste) and I think they just taste better fresh! But if you prefer to purchase them, that’s totally fine – just skip step #3 in the recipe.

• 1 cup whole walnuts
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup water

Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayo – I used Japanese mayo (Kewpie brand) in this recipe because that is my favorite mayo and the only mayo I keep at home. However, you can use any mayo you have on hand!
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp condensed milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice – If you don’t have lemon juice on hand, you can sub with rice vinegar!
• salt to taste

Neutral oil for frying

My favorite neutral oil is avocado oil, but you can also use canola or vegetable oil! I don’t use olive oil when cooking Chinese food for two reasons: 1. It has a low burning point and 2. I find that the flavor profile does not usually go with the dish.

Honey Walnut Shrimp: Recipe Instructions

Butterfly and Prepare the shrimp

The first step in this recipe is to de-vein and butterfly the shrimp. I’m using the biggest shrimp I can find (U-12 or U-10) for this recipe! After de-veining the shrimp, take a knife and make a small cut along the back of the shrimp in order to flatten it out and create more surface area for the dredge. Once fried, the shrimp will curl up and create a wider, more appealing shape that has more surface area to stick to the sauce.

Once the shrimp are butterflied, marinate the shrimp in a bowl with salt, white pepper, baking soda, cornstarch and neutral oil for about 15 mintues.

In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup of cornstarch and season with salt and white pepper. Lightly coat the marinated shrimp in the dredge, and shake off any excess cornstarch.

Make the candied walnuts

To make the candied walnuts, melt butter over medium heat then add brown sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add water and bring the mixture to a simmer, then stir in your raw walnuts and cook for 5-6 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Immediately transfer the walnuts on a plate to cool.

Fry the shrimp

In a large pan or wok, heat neutral oil to 325F and fry your shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until bright red and cooked through. Immediately remove and place on a wire rack to drain.

The key tip here is to fry your shrimp in batches so the oil does not drop too drastically in temperature. Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil to ensure it does not drop below 300F.

Create the sauce and mix together

Once the shrimp and walnuts are done, it’s time to make the sauce! In a bowl large enough to hold the shrimp and walnuts, mix together Kewpie mayo, honey, condensed milk, lemon juice and salt to taste. Once combined, fold in your shrimp and candied walnuts and your Honey Walnut Shrimp is done!

Enjoy the Honey Walnut Shrimp!

I love Honey Walnut Shrimp so much because it reminds me of big family gatherings at our local Chinese restaurant, complete with the lazy Susan and circular tables with tons of dishes that would be shared amongst everyone! Honey Walnut Shrimp was always one of the most popular dishes at the table so I hope you enjoy making this dish at home!