This is old school, and involves deep-frying. However, you'll get a lovely delicate crust on the shrimp. See the main post for tips on the shrimp! If you scale up, fry the shrimp in more batches to maintain a decent oil temperature.
Recipe by Andrea Nguyen on May 23, 2019
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT10M
Ingredients
8 ounces shell-on (head-on white shrimp (about 12 total))
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more as needed)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
3 or 4 Thai chiles (chopped)
1 medium green onion (green and white parts, chopped)
Neutral oil for deep-frying and stir-frying
Steps
Trim the shrimp of their feet, pointy tip and razor shape rostrum on top of their heads. Aim to get rid of parts that may poke or scrape you while eating. Put the shrimp in a bowl and toss to coat with the pepper, sugar, salt, and cornstarch.
Heat about 1 inch of oil in a wok or deep skillet to about 350F, a wooden chopstick inserted will sizzle nicely. Have a dish with paper towel nearby for draining the shrimp.
When the oil is nearly ready, drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons oil on the shrimp, stir to coat and moisten (you don’t have to be super careful with distributing the oil). In 2 or 3 batches, fry the shrimp until crisp and orange-pink. Drain on the paper towel-lined dish.
When done with frying, let the oil cool for about 5 minutes, then pour into a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup to cool completely before straining and reusing, or before pouring into a container and discarding.
Clean the wok and return it to medium-high heat. When hot, swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Lower the heat to medium and add the ginger, garlic, chiles and green onion. Cook, stirring constantly for a good 1 minute, to aromatize and dry a bit.
Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the fried shrimp, stir to coat with the seasonings and heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate with all the bits of seasoning. Sprinkle on a tiny bit more salt for a savory edge, if you like. Serve immediately.
