Honey Walnut Shrimp - Mrs. Tocci Style

When choosing our reception menu we were careful to choose dishes that would appeal both to the Chinese guests and the non-Chinese guests. During the reception, hubby and I were so busy running around we ended up missing quite a few of the dishes we had been looking forward to having. The good thing is we've had it all before but sadly being the bride and groom we were still deprived of food but we did eat more than we thought we'd be able to - thanks to our wedding party and my brothers who loaded us up with food every time we were near our table.

We've gotten a lot of complements about the reception food but have heard the most raves about one dish in particular - Grand Marnier Shrimp. I've been thinking about all the yummy food from the reception and really want to have a food do-over. I decided to try my hand at making the yummy shrimp dish which is more commonly referred to as Honey Walnut Shrimp.

Here's what the fruits of my labor yielded. I think it was a success as everyone in this room ate it and enjoyed it. I would have more but I'm so full from "testing" the dish out and eating some of my Thai food take-out.

I began by Googling some recipes and found one that most appealed to me and got to work. This is a more traditional type of Chinese dish and is considered one that originated in Hong Kong.


You will need the following ingredients (a trip to the store is usually necessary).

• 1 lb of large or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup walnuts (or more if you really like them)
  
• 5 cups water
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 2-3 cups oil
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp condensed milk

Start by rinsing the walnuts, then boil in water, changing water a couple of times. The goal is to have clear water but it takes way too long. When tired of changing the water add sugar and boil until sugar dissolves. Drain walnuts.

On high, heat 2 cups oil until almost smoking, lower to medium heat and deep fry walnuts until they're shiny and brown, no longer golden. It takes a little while before they actually burn but keep an eye on them. Place walnuts on cookie sheet, let cool. (I make extra because they are delish and I ate quite a few while prepping the shrimp). Keep the oil to cook the shrimp later.

Mix cornstarch and egg whites together to form a thick, sticky texture. Do not over mix, if too smooth and soupy add some more cornstarch. Add peeled, deveined shrimp and coat well.

As you can see my mix is a bit soupy. This mixture, when fried, will be like a tempura type coating on the shrimp and should be crispy like fried chicken or something like it.

Next prepare the sauce - combine honey, lemon juice, mayo and condensed milk. I found that there's not really a lot of sauce for the shrimp but if you don't want it very saucy this is a good coating. Otherwise increase the amount of honey, lemon juice, mayo and condensed milk. Or just add a little more condensed milk if you just want a bit more sauce. The mayo and condensed milk really make the sauce.

Now it's time to fry up the shrimp. Use the same oil from frying the walnuts but add more oil to make sure you cover the shrimp. Heat the oil up on high and turn down a bit when it starts to smoke. I recommend cooking the shrimp in at least 2 batches to ensure the tempura-like batter cooks and gets crispy. Do not cover as it will steam the batter and shrimp. Drain the shrimp of excess oils. Once done frying the shrimp add to the sauce and coat well. Top off with the walnuts and serve.