Breakthrough: Salt to the Coating and Less Cooking Time
After preparing a family favorite dish at home for the first time, I found that the taste and texture needed some improvement. During the second try, I included salt not only in the sauce, but also in the corn starch for the shrimp, so the flavor ended up much better. As for the cooking duration for the shrimp, less was definitely more!
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
At a Chinese restaurant, my family often ordered Honey Walnut Shrimp, but it was expensive. Since we enjoy this dish, I decided to find a recipe for it that didn’t require deep frying with lots of oil.
Inspiring Recipe
What I found was, Restaurant-Style Honey Walnut Shrimp, from the blog, Pickled Plum. Previously, I’ve even referenced this site to make some yummy glass noodles with shrimp.
First Try
Though this recipe required ingredients that I don’t usually purchase and many steps in the preparation, I was determined to try it for Lunar New Year!
Ingredients to Use
After buying walnuts, sweetened condensed milk, and shrimp, I was ready to make the default amount in the recipe with just one substitution. Instead of using grapeseed or vegetable oil, I used avocado oil.
As for the optional items on the list, I chose to include the scallions and white rice.
Steps to Prepare
Of the eight steps in the instructions, I made some minor changes for a couple of them as follows:
- Step 2 – Instead of cooking the walnuts in a non-stick skillet, I used a small saucepan. Also, since I didn’t preheat the saucepan, I ended up stirring the ingredients for 7 minutes instead of 4-5 minutes.
- Step 6 – As for cooking the shrimp, I placed them in a medium skillet instead of a large one, due to availability, for 2 minutes per side.
Time to Eat
From the looks of the walnuts, I was afraid that they would be mushy.
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣5️⃣* | 🤏🤏 | 💰💰 | 🙂 |
The sauce was good since it was not overly sweet. In addition, my family also enjoyed it.
As for the shrimp, they were overcooked and chewy. Also, they would’ve been better if they were seasoned.
Lastly, the walnuts were so-so, but at least they weren’t too soft.
Second Try
For the second batch, I wanted to have tender and seasoned shrimp.
Ingredients to Use
For the ingredients, I used the same ones as the first batch, except for the shrimp. This time, instead of using the farm-raised shrimp, I purchased the wild Argentinian red shrimp.
Steps to Prepare
As for the process, I spent more time on a couple of the steps and less for another, as follows:
- Step 2 – This time, it took 10 minutes of stirring everything in a non-preheated saucepan before the syrup was sticky and golden brown, and the walnuts were evenly coated.
- Step 5 – To help with the shrimp flavor, I coated them with corn starch and salt as noted in another recipe, Honey Walnut Shrimp, from the blog, House of Nash Eats.
- Step 6 – Since I didn’t want to overcook the shrimp again, I just placed them on the skillet for 1 minute per side.
Time to Eat
I couldn’t wait to try the new version of Honey Walnut Shrimp!
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣5️⃣* | 🤏🤏 | 💰💰 | 🙂 |
The sauce tasted sweeter maybe because of the effect from the extra salt in the shrimp coating? As for the texture of the shrimp, it was definitely better because they were tender. My older son even said that these tasted better than the ones from the first round.
When I want to spend time making this dish again, I would try the following, so I wouldn’t have to waste the majority of the store-bought condensed milk:
Continuous Improvement
- Make a small batch of condensed milk, instead of buying it from the store. (Perhaps I would reference the recipe, How to Make Sweetened Condensed Milk (Bold Baking Basics), from the Bigger Bolder Baking website.)
When I first reviewed the shrimp recipe, it looked intimidating, but after experiencing it, it reminded me of the following that I would like to share with my previous self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- A well-organized recipe with many ingredients and steps might actually be manageable.
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the recipe, Restaurant-Style Honey Walnut Shrimp, from the blog, Pickled Plum?
- Share your experience with homemade sweetened condensed milk?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)