Chinese Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Chinese Salt and Pepper Shrimp. Salty peppery fried shrimp with a spicy kick. Savoury, delicious, easy to make and addictive. A great dish for dinner or lunch. This dish is popularly served at many Chinese restaurants.

I’m a big fan of salt and pepper recipes and I’m also a big fan of shrimp. So I thought it’s about time I share a recipe for tasty Chinese Salt and Pepper Shrimp that will keep you coming back for more.

Quick and easy to make!

This Chinese salt and pepper shrimp recipe is INCREDIBLY easy to make! I share a video on how to make it as well if you click here or watch below. (ps. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel – shameless plug).

Ingredients are mostly accessible

There aren’t too many foreign ingredients in the dish and you may have most of them in your pantry already!  What I love most about preparing this dish is that you can mix everything in bowl and fry it all in one pan! Super easy. It’s a great quick weeknight meal if you’re craving some salty spicy seafood.

What do you serve it with?

This Chinese spicy salt and pepper shrimp is best served with rice and leafy greens.

Cooking tips for the best Chinese Salt and Pepper Shrimp

• Purchase jumbo sized shrimp that has already been deveined and peeled. This will cut down the prep time.
• Prepare your ingredients ahead of time. This makes it easier when you’re fast frying that shrimp. You never want to overcook or undercook shrimp so when you have all the ingredients ready, it allows for a quick and delicious tender shrimp dish
• Marinate the shrimp in black pepper, salt and shaoxing wine first before coating in cornstarch. This allows for an even distribution of the seasoning.
• Don’t skip out on the shaoxing wine, it offers amazing taste to this dish
• Make sure each piece of shrimp is well coated in cornstarch. This gives it a crispier texture
• Fry the shrimp only until pink, curled and crispy. Do not cook past that or it'll become overcooked.
• For a very spicy shrimp, use bird’s eye chilies but for a more mild dish use larger red hot chilies without the seeds

FAQ

What is Chinese salt and pepper shrimp?

It's fried shrimp that is coated in a light batter and seasoned with pepper, ginger, garlic, chilies and wine. It's very popular in Asian cuisine and absolutely delicious.

Do you eat the shells on salt and pepper shrimp?

For this recipe, you can cook it without the shell it to make it easier to eat. But if you enjoy eating shrimp with the shell on, you may keep it on. The shells also offer extra flavour.

Can you eat shrimp with veins?

Yes you can but when you remove the veins, they taste much better. The veins usually carry a lot of dirt and bacteria.

What happens if you don't devein shrimp?

When you don't devein a shrimp, the dirt inside the veins lend a fishy and grimy taste to the shrimp.

What does cornstarch do to shrimp?

It makes the shrimp deliciously crispy when added to the hot oil!

What do you use to season shrimp?

I use salt, black pepper, and shaoxing wine to marinate. Then when the coated shrimp is fried, I then add ginger, garlic, green onion, red chili, more wine and sugar.

Where can I find Shaoxing Wine?

Any Asian grocer will carry it near their sauce aisle. Or you can sub with dry sherry wine or even white wine.

Other recipes you may like!

CHINESE SALT & PEPPER TOFU
CHINESE SALT & PEPPER FISH

For this recipe

You will need the following ingredients for my authentic Chinese salt and pepper shrimp recipe:

• jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• garlic, minced
• red chili, sliced
• shaoxing wine or sub with dry sherry wine/white wine
• ginger, finely chopped
• sugar
• spring onion, finely chopped
• vegetable oil

Shrimp Marinade

• shaoxing wine or sub with dry sherry wine/white wine
• black pepper
• cornstarch

How to make Chinese salt and pepper shrimp

Prepare your ingredients as listed above.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together your shrimp, black pepper and wine. Then add cornstarch and mix until each piece of shrimp is well coated.

Over medium high heat, add vegetable oil. Quickly add in your shrimp, spread apart and fry on both sides JUST until they have curled and are crispy. Do not overcook.

Quickly add in your remaining ingredients with shaoxing wine being the last. Then stir fry everything together until the wine has fully evaporated.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Give it a try!

Well I hope you give my Chinese Salt and Pepper Shrimp recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed this Chinese crispy salt and pepper shrimp , please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @ChristieAtHome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!

Made this recipe and loved it?

If you could leave a star rating for my Chinese salt and pepper fried shrimp recipe, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!

Take care,
Christie

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