All My Friends Text Me for My Favorite Chinese One-Pan Shrimp Recipe
I grew up eating a lot of seafood at home and in Chinese restaurants, and my favorite dishes were usually the simplest — the ones that involved just a hot wok and a handful of ginger, scallions, and seasonings. This classic ginger-scallion combination is delicious with crab or lobster, but shrimp is my more economical choice when I’m cooking at home. This Chinese ginger scallion shrimp recipe features big, shell-on shrimp quickly stir-fried in aromatics and an easy savory sauce that just glazes the shrimp. The shrimp are succulent and perfectly cooked, and I’m so happy eating it for dinner with a bowl of steamed white rice and stir-fried greens (some people even eat the shrimp shells!). While it’s great on a weeknight, this dish is also right at home as part of a Chinese Lunar New Year dinner next to Chinese dumplings or braised shiitake mushrooms with baby bok choy.
Why You’ll Love It
It’s all about the shrimp. Big shrimp are just lightly seasoned and quickly cooked, which highlights their delicious natural flavors. Plus, it’s fun to peel and eat them at the dinner table.
Stir-frying is quick. Once all the ingredients are prepared, the stir-fry portion only needs less than 10 minutes of cooking time.
Key Ingredients in Chinese Ginger Scallion Shrimp
Jumbo shrimp. Buy raw shrimp (fresh or thawed frozen is fine) based on size; you want ones that are 16 to 20 per pound here. This dish is traditionally made with shell-on shrimp because the shells add flavor and help trap in some of the sauce and juices in the shrimp (although you can completely peel the shrimp if you’d like). If you can find shrimp labeled “EZ-Peel,” that means the shrimp have already been cut through the shell (and are also sometimes deveined), which saves you some time and effort.
Ginger. Fresh ginger is used often in Chinese seafood recipes to balance out the fish or seafood-y flavors. There’s no need to peel the ginger here, as it’s usually used for flavor and not eaten — just thinly slice.
Scallions. Grab a bunch of scallions, and cut them into large 2-inch pieces. Stir-fry the white and light green parts a little longer so they soften, and toss in the dark green parts at the end so they just wilt.
How to Make Chinese Ginger Scallion Shrimp
Prepare the shrimp. You can peel the shrimp completely, or leave them on but cut through part of the shell with kitchen shears. In either case, remove the digestive tract that’s located along the top curve of the shrimp. Season with a little salt.
Make the sauce. Stir Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, water, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and white pepper together.
Stir-fry the aromatics. Start by stir-frying sliced ginger and the white and light green parts of scallions until fragrant.
Partially cook the shrimp. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until almost cooked through.
Finish stir-frying with garlic and the sauce. Stir-fry the shrimp with some chopped garlic briefly, then finish by adding the sauce and tossing until the shrimp are just coated. This is not a sauce-heavy dish, so the shrimp will not be swimming in sauce.
More Chinese Recipes to Round Out Dinner
Chinese Ginger Scallion Shrimp Recipe
Peeling and eating them is part of the fun.
Prep time 20 minutes to 30 minutes
Cook time 10 minutes
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients
6 medium scallions
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon soy sauce or tamari
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pinch ground white pepper
1 pound raw jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), preferably shell-on and thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as vegetable
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Steamed white rice, for serving (optional)
Instructions
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Trim and cut 6 medium scallions crosswise into 2-inch pieces, keeping the dark green parts separate from the light green and white parts.
Stir 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1 pinch ground white pepper together in a small bowl.
Prepare 1 pound raw jumbo shrimp: Starting at the head end of the shrimp and working your way to the tail, use kitchen shears to cut through the shell of each shrimp through the top curve. Make a shallow cut along the back of the shrimp where the shell was cut, then pull out the stringy digestive tract or “vein” with the tip of the knife or fingers. (Alternatively, peel the shrimp completely and then cut out the digestive tract.)
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and season all over with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
Heat 2 tablespoons neutral oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add 1 (1-inch) piece sliced ginger and the light green and white parts of the scallions, and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the shrimp in an even layer. Cook, tossing every 30 seconds or so, until the shrimp are almost cooked through, about 2 1/2 minutes. Sprinkle with 4 finely chopped garlic cloves, and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the dark green scallion parts, drizzle in the sauce mixture, and stir-fry until the shrimp are just cooked through and coated with the sauce, about 30 seconds. Serve with steamed rice if desired.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Further Reading
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