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    Home » Recipes » fish and seafood

    Chinese Boiled Shrimp

    October 2, 2021 by Elaine 9 Comments | Jump to Recipe

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    Simple and healthy Chinese boiled shrimp or Chinese poached shrimp.  Fresh shrimp has a lovely light and sweet taste. When dipping with a lovely ginger and scallion soy sauce dressing, it tastes even better. 

    Poaching is a very popular cooking method in Guangdong cuisine, usually used for fresh and nautically sweet  ingredients like chicken, shrimp, broccoli and other vegetables.  This is my daughter’s favorite side dish. 

    Chinese boiled shrimp|chinasichuanfood.com

    Shrimps are cooked slightly different in Chinese cuisine. One of the most outstanding feature is that we love to cook shrimp with the shells and heads.  I understand that shells may bring trouble when eating, but we do this with reason. 

    1. if the shrimp is cooked with lots of aromatic and seasoning, like salt and pepper shrimp, the shell presents the best flavors. We usually taste, only taste not eat the shell before peeling. The aroma of the shell and head can improve the flavor of the dish.
    2. Additionally, shell can prevent the meat from over cooking and more friendly to beginners. 

    For this recipe, we have to keep the shell, otherwise the meat can be overcooked very easily.

    How to devein shrimp with shells and heads

    Firstly use a kitchen shear to trim off the legs and the sharp part at the top of the head to avoid hurt. 

    Chinese stir-fried shrimp with ketchup

    Use a toothpick to pick the devein part out. Then remove the dark part in the heads by opening the carapace of the head. Then wash carefully under running water. Washing is extremely important for Chinese poached shrimp, as the head parts spoil the flavor.

    Chinese stir-fried shrimp with ketchup
    Chinese stir-fried shrimp with ketchup

    Instructions for boiling 

    In a large pot of water, add scallion, ginger, salt and Sichuan peppercorn (my personal favorite but optional). Bring the water to a boiling.

    Chinese boiled shrimp|chinasichuanfood.com

    Keep high fire and place the shrimp in. After adding the shrimp, the temperature drops immediately to the poaching range.  Wait for around 1 minute or until the water begins to boil again. 

    Chinese boiled shrimp|chinasichuanfood.com

    Transfer out as soon as possible.

    Chinese boiled srhimp|chinasichuanfood.com

    Serve directly with dipping sauce.

    Chinese boiled shrimp|chinasichuanfood.com

    Cook’s Note

    1. fresh is the No.1 rule. 
    2. choose smaller and younger shrimps. Avoid to choose shrimp with heave shells. 
    3. follow to words and avoid overcooking.  
    Chinese boiled shrimp|chinasichuanfood.com

    Chinese blanched shrimp

    Chinese blanched shrimp. Get tender shrimp meat.
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 165kcal
    Author: Elaine

    Ingredients

    • 300 g fresh shrimp

    Dipping Sauce

    • 1.5 tbsp. light soy sauce
    • 10 thin ginger shreds
    • 10 thin scallion shreds
    • ½ tsp. sesame oil , optional
    • 1 tsp. sugar
    • 1.5 tbsp. clean water

    Boiling water

    • 2 scallions
    • 1 tsp. salt
    • 1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn
    • water
    • 2 chunks of ginger , smashed

    Instructions

    • How to devein shrimp with shells and heads. Firstly use a kitchen shear to trim off the legs and the sharp part at the top of the head to avoid hurt.opening the carapace of the head. Then wash carefully under running water. Washing is extremely important for Chinese poached shrimp, as the head parts spoil the flavor.
    • In a large pot of water, add scallion, ginger, salt and Sichuan peppercorn (my personal favorite but optional). Bring the water to a boiling.
    • Keep high fire and place the shrimp in. After adding the shrimp, the temperature drops immediately to the poaching range.  Wait for around 1 minute or until the water begins to boil again.  Transfer out as soon as possible.
    • Mix all the ingredients for dipping sauce together and make sure the sugar is well dissolved. Serve with dipping sauce.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 242mg | Sodium: 1756mg | Potassium: 490mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 133IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 1mg
    Chinese boiled shrimp|chinasichuanfood.com
    « Scallion Oil Noodles
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lin wen

      January 10, 2014 at 11:39 am

      Look delicious!

      Reply
    2. Melissa Loh

      February 01, 2014 at 6:18 pm

      Pre-boiled shrimp is pretty common for sale here in Australia, but I often find them lacking in flavour. Next time I can get my hands in green prawns, I'll definitely try this recipe and see if boiling them in the flavoured salted water helps retain the prawns' natural sweetness. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

      Reply
      • Elaine Luo

        February 01, 2014 at 8:26 pm

        Hi Melissa,

        In fact, I found the same problem. So I soaked the shrimp in salted water with seasonings rather than common cold water.

        Hope it works good for you.

        Reply
    3. Rui

      September 29, 2020 at 2:14 am

      Why do you need to soak the shrimp in cold salted water with seasoning? Why can's you eat right after boiling / cooking?

      Reply
      • Elaine

        September 30, 2020 at 8:16 am

        Soaking make the shrimp absorb flavors better. But you can eat it right away.

        Reply
    4. Kelly Kellogg

      October 09, 2021 at 5:09 pm

      incomplete recipe

      Reply
      • Elaine

        October 10, 2021 at 8:16 pm

        Sorry I missed one step. Already added!

        Reply
    5. PJ

      October 10, 2021 at 1:56 am

      Instructions seems incomplete. Review and update it. In the meantime I will do my Cajun poach shrimp.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        October 10, 2021 at 8:16 pm

        Sorry I missed one step. Already added! Thanks for reminding!

        Reply

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