Shrimp in Batter

1. Fried shrimp in batter turn out equally well from cooked or raw seafood. The principle of frying and preparation is the same. What matters is that the shrimp are fresh and large. You can always buy good frozen seafood by weight. If it has been “dry” frozen, that is the ideal option: the shrimp will not leak when thawed and will stay firm.

   

2. The amount of vegetables in the recipe is up to you. You can reduce the sweet pepper, or simply use two halves of different colors. If the heat of the dish worries you, use less chili, although to me it seemed that you could add even more. Asian sauces traditionally use garlic, green onion and ginger, which guarantees aroma and a pleasant flavor.

   

How to make shrimp in batter

1. Frozen shrimp must be thawed. The easiest way is to put the seafood in a bowl and pour boiling water over it from a kettle. In a few minutes the shrimp will thaw and the water will no longer be hot, so there is no fear of burning your fingers. Carefully twist the tail off the body. Discard the body and peel the shell off the tail so that only the tail fin remains. Remove any remains of the intestine, the dark “thread” along the back. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel.

   

2. In a small bowl, make a thin dough, the batter. For the shrimp to be tasty, the batter must not be too thick, but it also should not run off in drops. It is easy: just mix the egg with the starch. We use cornstarch, which makes a better batter. To start, add 5 tsp of starch (16 g) to the egg, add pepper and mix thoroughly with a fork. Add more starch as needed until the consistency of the batter is right.

   

3. Heat the oil in a saucepan. If you have no sesame oil, you can easily use ordinary vegetable oil, whatever you have. When the oil is hot, lower the heat a little. By the way, always remember to be careful when you lower battered shrimp into the oil. Hot oil loves to splatter, even if only traces of water get into it.

   

4. One by one, dip each shrimp tail into the batter, holding it by the fin with your fingers. Let the excess batter drip off. Place the shrimp in the hot oil and fry for 1-2 mins. The sign that they are done is that the batter begins to brown and takes on a pleasant dark golden color. Place the fried shrimp on a plate lined with a paper towel.

   

Preparing the sauce for the fried shrimp

1. Wash and peel all the vegetables. Chop the hot pepper fairly fine with a knife. Cut the sweet peppers a little coarser. By the time you start the sauce, all the vegetables should be chopped and ready. Peel the ginger and garlic and cut them into thin slices or strips. Cut the green and white onion the same way as the sweet pepper. Put all the prepared vegetables on a plate.

   

2. In a saucepan, or better a wok, heat 3 tbsp of sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped hot pepper and fry until the pepper begins to brown. This flavors the oil with the pepper, and part of the heat passes into the oil and softens a little.

   

3. Add all the other vegetables to the pepper oil at once. Stirring, fry the vegetables until they are soft. Gradually the vegetables will lose moisture and begin to brown. Do not over-fry them; it is enough to fry them well. Meanwhile, prepare the liquid mixture for the vegetable sauce in which the shrimp will be braised.

   

4. In a bowl or cup, mix 3 tsp of light soy sauce, 2 tsp each of Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce, 1-2 tsp of rice vinegar and 2 tbsp of mirin. If you have no mirin, remember that it is a very sweet rice liqueur, easily replaced with dry or sweet white wine plus 1 tsp of brown sugar (5 g). This is often done when making teriyaki sauce. Squeeze 1 tsp of lemon juice into the sauce and add 1-2 tbsp of water or fish stock. Stir the sauce and wait a few minutes for the sugar to dissolve, if you added it. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and let it come to a boil.

   

5. Simmer the vegetables in the sauce for 2-3 mins, stirring with a spatula. The sauce will thicken slightly. Then add the shrimp to the sauce and stir gently, trying not to damage them. Simmer the shrimp in the vegetable sauce for 3-4 mins, until part of the sauce has been absorbed by the batter. If the vegetables have become quite dry, you can add 1 tbsp of sesame oil.

   

Serving shrimp in batter

1. Pile the sweet-and-sour spicy sauce with fried vegetables in a serving bowl and arrange the fried battered shrimp on top, so that it is easy to pick them up by the tail fin with your fingers and bite off the tender meat. Garnish the appetizer with a sprig of greens and serve at once.