This Chinese salt pepper shrimp is one of the famous Chinese take-out dishes, and it's no surprise! The shrimps are fried in beer-battered, so they become super crispy. Then they're coated with a delicious salt and pepper seasoning (with a secret add-on ingredient) and served with a tasty lime dipping sauce. This homemade version is just as good as any restaurant-style dish.
Another famous Chinese take-out dish that you can't miss. Who doesn't order these delicious off-the-to-go menus of any Chinese restaurant (or Panda Express) once in their life?
This recipe is somewhat similar to this salt and pepper chicken nuggets. The difference between the two is instead of dredging the protein in flour mixture; it is coated in beer batter to enhance the crispiness.
Both recipes share the amazing salt pepper lime dipping sauce that will surely blow your mind. The combination of two most basic cooking seasonings with a squeeze of acid is the ode to everyone's taste buds.
Cooking schedule
Plan to cook this easy shrimp recipe for dinner? I have a big cooking picture planning for you:
- 4:00 pm - gather ingredients for beer batter
- 4:10 pm - make beer batter and let it rest for 1 hour under refrigeration
- 4:30 pm - peel and devein shrimps
- 4:45 pm - gather the rest of the ingredients
- 5:00 pm - make lime dipping sauce
- 5:10 pm - heat vegetable oil for deep fry and take beer batter out of the fridge
- 5:15 pm - start frying beer battered shrimps in 3 batches
- 5:45 pm - quickly sauté vegetables, shrimps with salt and pepper seasoning
- 5:50 pm - serve
Salt and pepper seasoning
The seasoning mixture has the secret ingredient that makes this homemade recipe tastes exactly like a restaurant-style dish.
The seasoning ingredients include white pepper, black pepper, Kosher salt, and last but not least, cinnamon powder. Yes, you read that right; the cinnamon powder is the secret ingredient I was bragging about.
Just like baking, the role of cinnamon powder here is to enhance the amazing smell of pepper shrimps; but not to over power it.
So make sure you only use a small amount, just enough to complement other ingredients.
What kind of shrimps are used for this recipe?
Fresh, shell-on shrimps are the best option for this recipe.
I prefer shell-on shrimps for this salt and pepper prawn recipe and any recipe that calls for shrimps. Like these crispy popcorn shrimps, sweet potatoes shrimp fritters, and hot & sour shrimp soup.
Pre-peeled shrimps tend to be overhandled and mangled. They are too mushy and soft to work with in most recipes. You can read more about shrimps and their specs here.
To sum up, shrimps used in this Chinese salt and pepper shrimp recipe are peeled and deveined with tail on.
How to make this salt & pepper prawn
Deep fry shrimp
- Whisk together beer batter ingredients (include AP flour, corn starch, cold beer, baking powder, and Kosher salt) and let it sit for at least 1 hour under refrigeration. Make sure the batter is lump free.
- This beer batter can be kept in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 2 days. So you can make it ahead of time.
- In a large round cooking pan, fill it halfway with vegetable oil and heat over high heat. Make sure the oil temperature reaches 350F before frying.
- Holding the tail, lightly dredge peeled shrimp in AP flour first, then carefully dip it into beer batter.
- This extra dredging step ensures the batter sticks on the shrimps and provides such crispiness to the fullest.
- Carefully lower the shrimp into the hot oil. It is important not to throw the shrimp in the oil, or you will get burnt.
- Add a few more shrimps to the pan. Don't overcrowd, or shrimps will become soggy as the temperature of the oil drops.
- Shrimps are done when their outer layers turn deep golden brown and become crispy. Approximately 7-9 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked shrimps to a large plate lined with oil-absorbing papers or paper towels.
- Continue the process for the rest of the shrimps.
Make pepper shrimp
- In a sautéed pan, heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add bell peppers, jalapeno and white onion and cook for 1 minute.
- Add deep fried shrimps and cook for 30 seconds.
- Followed by seasoning mixture, give the pan a few shakes to coat everything evenly, approximately 5 to 10 seconds. You should be able to smell strong pepper fragrance at this point.
- Turn off the heat. Serve immediately with lime dipping sauce.
Other delicious Chinese inspired recipes
- General Tso's chicken
- Easy & crispy sesame chicken
- Vegan sesame tofu
- Chinese egg noddle soup with roasted duck
- Soya sauce chicken
- Roasted crispy pork belly
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp with Lime Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
For S&P Shrimps
- 1 lb shrimps about 20 counts, peeled, deveined, tail-on
- 1 small green bell pepper cut into bite size
- 1 small red bell pepper cut into bite size
- 1 small yellow bell pepper cut into bite size
- ½ small white onion cut into bite size
- 2 small jalapeno sliced
- vegetable oil as needed
For beer batter
- 1 ½ c AP flour
- ½ c cornstarch
- 1.5 + ¼ c cold beer
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
Seasoning mixture
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon powder
Lime dipping sauce
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lime juice freshly squeeze
- ¼ tsp vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Instructions
Make beer batter
- Whisk together beer batter ingredients (include AP flour, corn starch, cold beer, baking powder and Kosher salt) and let it sit for at least 1 hour under refrigeration. Make sure the batter is lump free.
- This beer batter can be kept in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 2 days. So you can make it ahead of time.
Deep fry shrimps
- In a large round cooking pan, fill it halfway with vegetable oil and heat over high heat. Make sure the oil temperature reaches 350F before frying.
- Holding the tail, lightly dredge peeled shrimp in AP flour first, then carefully dip it into beer batter. (This extra dredging step ensures the batter sticks on the shrimps and provides such crispiness to the fullest.)
- Carefully lower the shrimp into the hot oil. It is important not to throw the shrimp in the oil, or you will get burnt.
- Add a few more shrimps to the pan. Don’t overcrowd, or shrimps will become soggy as the temperature of the oil drops. (I separate 1lb of shrimps into three batches to fry).
- Shrimps are done when their outer layers turn deep golden brown and become crispy. Approximately 7-9 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked shrimps to a large plate lined with oil-absorbing papers or paper towels.
- Continue the process for the rest of the shrimps.
Sauté shrimps & vegetables
- In a sautéed pan, heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add bell peppers, jalapeno and white onion and cook for 1 minute.
- Add deep fried shrimps and cook for 30 seconds.
- Followed by seasoning mixture, give the pan a few shakes to coat everything evenly, approximately 5 to 10 seconds. You should be able to smell a strong pepper fragrance at this point.
- Turn off the heat. Serve immediately with lime dipping sauce as a snack or with steamed rice
For lime dipping sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. It can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Notes
- It's better to use shell-on, frozen shrimps instead of pre-peeled shrimps. Pre-peeled shrimps tend to be overhandled and mangled. Making them too mushy and soft to work for most recipes.
- If the batter is too thin, add 1 tbsp of flour, whisk, then check the consistency before adding more flour.
- If the batter is too thick, add 1 tbsp of cold beer, whisk, then check the consistency before adding more beer.
- Always add 1 tbsp of flour or cold beer at a time to prevent unfixable batter.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on 3/6/2021, then updated with more helpful information.
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