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Bon Appétit

  • Active Time

    15 minutes

  • Total Time

    15 minutes

Crunchy shrimp (thanks for the help, cornstarch!) gets its zesty, floral heat from Sichuan peppercorns. It's hard to believe that a main course this complex comes together so quickly.

Ingredients

4 Servings

1½

pound shell-on large shrimp

3

tablespoons cornstarch

1

teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1½

teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1

cup vegetable oil

1

teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, ground

1

Fresno chile, thinly sliced, seeds removed if desired

½

cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Using kitchen shears, cut along the backs of shrimp through shells and just deep enough to expose veins; remove veins. Pat shrimp dry. Whisk cornstarch, black pepper, and ¾ tsp. salt in a large bowl; add shrimp and toss to coat.

    Step 2

    Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shrimp until golden, crisp, and cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to paper towels and let drain, then toss in a medium bowl with Sichuan peppercorns and remaining ¾ tsp. salt. Add chile and cilantro to bowl and toss to combine.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 170 Fat (g) 4 Saturated Fat (g) .5 Cholesterol (mg) 215 Carbohydrates (g) 9 Dietary Fiber (g) 1 Total Sugars (g) 1 Protein (g) 24 Sodium (mg) 1690
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Reviews (91)

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  • We followed the recipe exactly, except used green onion rather than cilantro. The spice blend was absolute fire, but the texture of the shrimp shells seemed...wrong? I love fried shrimp heads and imagined this to be similar, but the shells were a bit tough which made for an unpleasant eating experience. I'm not sure if it was the type of shrimp we used (frozen XL shell-on shrimp from a regular old grocery store), or if we didn't fry them long enough, or maybe this is just how the recipe is supposed to be? I might try it again with higher quality head-on shrimp from the fish market, maybe peel the shell but leave the head and tail intact for the crunch factor. Swapping in chicken for the shrimp would also be fab.

    • lasagnaqueen

    • Portland, Oregon

    • 3/23/2022

  • Delicious and easy recipe. I fried my jalapeño pepper before tossing it in with the shrimp.

    • Anonymous

    • Texas

    • 4/20/2020

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