Chinese Shrimp Cakes
 
 
Shrimp cakes. This is very much a home-cooking dish and popular in coastal cities in China where shrimp are plentiful.
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Ingredients
  • 1 pound shrimp
  • (450g, thawed, peeled and deveined)
  • 1 small carrot (about 50g)
  • 5 water chestnuts (minced, freshly peeled or from a can)
  • ¼ cup cilantro (15 g, finely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
  • 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 egg white
  • 3 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)
Instructions
  1. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. Lightly “smash” them with the side of a knife, and coarsely chop them. Be careful not mince the shrimp into pieces that are too small.
  2. Split a small carrot (about 50 g) in half crosswise and then lengthwise, and blanch the pieces in boiling water for about 2 minutes until lightly softened. Drain and finely dice the blanched carrot.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the coarsely chopped shrimp, finely diced carrot, minced water chestnuts, ¼ cup cilantro, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper, 2 teaspoons oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 egg white. Whip everything together for about 5 to 10 minutes in one direction, until the mixture is sticky and all ingredients are well combined. You should be able to gather it into one big smooth ball with a rubber spatula, i.e. it should be sticky and cohesive.
  4. Now, heat a flat bottomed frying pan over medium high heat (nonstick or cast iron works best), until it starts to smoke lightly. Add 2 tablespoons oil and turn the heat down to medium. Take a large spoonful of the shrimp mixture, and use another spoon to form a ball. You can also do this with oiled hands.
  5. Drop it into the pan and quickly press it into a disc. (To avoid sticking, you can brush the spoons with oil beforehand.)
  6. Pan-fry each side for about 3 minutes, until golden brown. Add the last tablespoon of oil if needed during pan-frying.
Recipe by 5* trending recipes with videos at https://food.theffeed.com/2022/01/20/chinese-shrimp-cakes/