15 minutes soft fried shrimp (软炸虾仁) is one of the most popular snack for my family, especially loved by children. Since shrimp is yummy enough, we use very basic seasonings and fry them with a light batter.

This fried shrimp is different from popcorn shrimp, no hard crispy shells. Instead, those fried shrimps have a chewy and soft shell. We achieve this by controlling the viscosity of the batter. The final shrimp goes extremely with lots of seasonings and dipping sauces including salt and pepper, children’s favorite ketchup and sweet and spicy sauce.

Besides shrimp, this batter goes well with pork tenderloin, fish fillet and chicken breast too.

Ingredients

• 200g shrimp
• 1/3 cup + 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 small egg
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• oil for frying
• salt and pepper for garnishing
• ketchup for serving

Steps

Devine the shrimp and cut a small line on the back. Drain completely. Add pinch of salt and white pepper and marinating for 10 minutes, giving a foundation salty taste inside.

In a small bowl, crack a small egg (around 50g), then add the cornstarch in. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. It is very important to keep a ratio for the egg liquid and cornstarch. I have shown the texture in the picture, the batter should be slightly running but can form a thin lay on the shrimp. If you feel the batter is too thin, slightly add more cornstarch for adjusting. To prevent drying the batter, add only a small batch each time (recommend 1 teaspoon each time)Place the shrimp in and mix well.

Heat around 1 and 1/2 cup of oil in a small pot until really hot, over 150 degree C. Then fry the shrimps by three batches until golden brown.

Drain extra oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. For children, use ketchup as a dip.