Shell fish have always been a delicacy in my mind, be it crayfish or river prawns. No matter which cooking method we choose, shrimp can show its own delicious taste perfectly. In the summer, we released the spicy crayfish recipe, which is a dish with such a strong flavor that most Chinese people cannot refuse it. Well, what if some people don’t like the spicy taste? But they are desperate for shrimp, can I post a recipe for a light shrimp? Today we offer Dry-braised Jiwei Shrimp and Cucumber.
First of all, the prawns I chose were Jiwei prawns. (Note: you can substitute large gulf shrimp for Jiwei shrimp.) I recommend using fresh live shrimp, as fresh shrimp will taste better. Since I can’t get fresh shrimp, I can only use frozen shrimp. So people who live near the sea always have an advantage in that they will always have the freshest seafood. The shrimp we use is rich in protein.
In Guangxi, we just boil shrimp in hot water and put it on a plate to make a sauce. A dish is done quickly. But what we are going to do today is not such a simple dish. We are going to make cucumber dry-braised shrimp, so we have more steps. However, it is still fairly simple. This recipe is cooked in two stages. The shrimp and cucumber are dry-blanched in oil, then dry-braised in a stir-fry with a ginger and scallion sauce. In fact, you can mix and match any veggies you want, as long as the dish looks refreshing. Some people who don’t like heavily seasoned dishes might enjoy this lightly seasoned, dry-braised shrimp.
Dry-braised Shrimp and Cucumber
Equipment
- 1 wok or deep Dutch oven (for frying)
- 1 wok or skillet
- 1 wire kitchen strainer or slotted spoon (to remove food from oil)
Ingredients
- 25 shrimp, large (raw, either fresh or frozen)
- 1 cucumber
- peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or lard (for deep frying)
For the sauce:
- 5 g fresh ginger
- 1 green onion
- 1 tsp salt (to taste) 5 ml
- ⅔ tsp white pepper, ground 3 ml
- 2 tsps oil
- 3⅓ tbsp water (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) 50 ml
- 1 tbsp starch water 15 ml
For marinading the shrimp:
- 1⅔ tbsp cornstarch (1 tbsp + 2 tsp) 25 ml
- ⅔ tsp salt
Instructions
Preparation:
- Prepare all the ingredients and wash the cucumbers and spring onions. Peel the ginger.
- Remove the shrimp shell, shrimp head.25 shrimp, large
- Cut the back of the shrimp with a knife (no need to cut it), remove the vein and discard.
- Wash the shrimp and drain. Add 3 ml of salt and stir until it feels sticky. Then add the cornstarch and stir well.⅔ tsp salt, 1⅔ tbsp cornstarch
- Finely chop the cucumber, green onion, ginger.
Cooking:
- Fill your wok or Dutch over with enough oil to submerse the shrimp, about 2/5 capacity, and heat to 212°-248° F (100°-120° C). Reduce the flame to low and add the shrimp to the hot oil.25 shrimp, large, peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or lard
- When the shrimp change color, add the chopped cucumber for 3 seconds, then remove and drain. Set the shrimp and cucumber aside for later. Pour the hot oil into a heat-resistant storage container and store.1 cucumber
- Add 2 tsp (10 ml) of oil in a dry wok or skillet, add the green onion and ginger, sauté until fragrant, then add the water. Add 1 tsp salt (5 ml) salt and ⅔ tsp (3 ml) white pepper, or to taste.5 g fresh ginger, 1 green onion, 1 tsp salt (to taste), ⅔ tsp white pepper, ground, 2 tsps oil, 3⅓ tbsp water, 1 tbsp starch water
- After the water boils, add cucumbers and shrimp, stir-fry for 20 seconds and add starchy water, stir quickly to combine.25 shrimp, large, 1 cucumber
- Finish.
Notes
- Since the shrimp are shelled, we need to coat them with cornstarch to keep them tender and moist when frying. Adding salt gives some flavor, and releases some moisture to make the cornstarch stick to the shrimp.
- Starch water reacts with the broth, making the broth thicker and brighter. Therefore, starch water must be added when there is a boiling, watery broth so that it will quickly merge with and thicken the liquid. If the broth is not boiling when the starch water is added, the sauce will become cloudy and dull, destroying the aesthetics.
Nutrition
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