Skip to main content

Fried shrimps in the Typhoon Shelter with fried lotus sliced （避风塘炒虾）

 


Have you ever heard or ate fried shrimp in typhoon shelter?

Typhoon shelters are designated areas in Hong Kong where small to medium-sized fishing boats can take refuge from typhoons. These areas are typically found in bays or harbours.

Fishermen anchored their boats at typhoon shelters during the typhoon attack to avoid the storm and were unable to go fishing for a few days. And the fishermen simply used what they had on board and, using a unique cooking technique, produced an unexpectedly excellent dish that later became quite famous among both fishermen and tourists. I would say that the seafood from typhoon shelters is now a dish that is recognized worldwide and is offered in many Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.

There are numerous variations of typhoon shelter shrimps, as you can find when you search for the recipe online. Some advice, fry it with douchi (fermented salty black soybeans) to add flavour to the dish. Some without the douche.  The first time I made this meal, I cooked it without douchi, worried that the douchi could overpower the flavour of the shrimps. Contrarily, the douchi will add a special flavour to the dish even though the fried garlic's main aroma was there.


The garlic flavour combines with the douchi, breadcrumbs and chilies to achieve a taste balance. The shrimp’s deliciousness will not be covered up. The shrimp shell is golden in colour and crisp. The taste is well-balanced and unforgettable. The overall dish is dry but rich in aroma, every shrimp is covered with crispy bread crumbs and garlic that enhances the overall taste of the dish.


Besides shrimp, I also use lotus root as a topping. Deep-fried lotus root and stir-fried with shrimp. Very well  matched.

Are you starting to drool over these delectable Typhoon Shelter shrimps? Let us get all the ingredients to hand and detailed instructions to get started.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

800g medium size shrimps

2 whole head of minced garlic

200g lotus root

2-3 bird eyes chili, diced

2 tbsp of douchi (fermented salty black soybeans)

1 cup orange colour breadcrumbs

 

Shrimps marinade

½ tsp salt                 

2 tsp Shaoxing wine          

 

Breadcrumbs seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar




 

METHOD

 

1. With a pair of scissors, trim away the sharp point head and legs of the shrimp. Then cut open the shells along the backs. Use a knife or scissors to cut a shallow slit into the meat. Devein and rinse. Marinade the shrimps simply with some salt and Shaoxing wine. Set it aside for 15 minutes.

2. Peeled and cut the lotus into thin slices.

3. Add some cooking oil to a well heated wok, add in the minced garlic, fry it over low heat, stirring frequently to ensure even cooking and prevent garlic from sticking and scorching. The garlic gently bubbled until it turned golden brown, and then the bubbling subsided until the garlic turned pale golden brown. It was readily removed using a strainer sieve. (Be careful not to let the garlic turn too brown; it will continue to cook for a short while after draining.)

4. Coated the shrimps and lotus slices with cornstarch. Shake off the excess flour.

5. Place the oil into a wok with a deep bottom, carefully add the coated lotus roots to the heated oil. Fry them in hot oil for 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Double fry the lotus sliced for crispy texture.  In the same wok with the remaining cooking oil from frying the lotus slices, add the coated prawns, fry them for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Again, double fry the prawns for crispy texture.

6. Add some cooking oil to a well heated wok, add in the minced garlic and douchi, sauté until fragrance then add in the bird eye chilies followed by the breadcrumbs and the crispy fried garlic, stir fry at low heat thoroughly until all the mixtures are mixed well together.  Add in the seasoning. The characteristic of this typhoon shelter shrimps lies in this step.

7. Add in the fried shrimps and lotus sliced to the breadcrumb’s mixture, stir well until everything is incorporated. It doesn’t take too long to stir the shrimp and the lotus sliced, because both have already been fried, just let the shrimp and lotus sliced be covered with bread crumbs. Fried shrimps in the Typhoon Shelter with lotus sliced are ready to serve. ENJOY!!

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dong Po Rou （东坡肉）

Dong Po Rou （东坡肉） – wine braised pork belly. It’s rich and savoury, tender that melts into your mouth. Traditionally, the pork belly is pan-fried before being braised or stewed for one to one and a half hours on low heat. Some of the recipes even call for steaming for an additional half an hour after stewing. It is very time-consuming. But as you are aware, I enjoy making recipes simpler without compromising the taste. You, too, I'm sure. Therefore, I skipped the pan-frying step and proceeded directly to braising the pork after blanching it, and then continued to cook with a pressure cooker. Don't worry; the dish's flavour remains unaffected. I'm hoping this simplified method may come in handy for your regular cooking. Trim off the edges of the pork and cut it into 3x3 cubes. Tie cooking twine around each cube. This will assist the cubes in keeping their form while cooking. If the pork that you bought is at the mid portion of the belly is ideal, there is a nice bala...
Post a Comment
Read more

Canned braised pork belly (罐头扣肉）

  A must-have dish for the Lunar New Year is steamed braised pork ( 扣肉 ). Some people enjoy making braised pork with yam, while others prefer to use preserved veggies. The key to making braised pork is to boil the meat first, then deep-fry it, and finally steam it. The sauces are the key to enhancing the flavour of the braised pork with either yam or preserved veggies. Of course, choosing pork that is half-fat and lean pork belly tastes the best is also crucial.   You can choose how thinly you want the pork slices. I sliced my pork to a thinness of 10 to 15 mm thinness.  Another crucial tip is to just use wine and no water when preparing the braised pork. I'm using Shaoxing wine, and it's been proven that the more wine you use, the tastier and more fragrant the meat will be and that the meat will remain fragrant after stewing. As I mentioned, this braised pork needs to boil first, then be deep-fried.  For those who find frying meat is very troublesome , you can w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ginkgo Bean Curd and Barley Sugar dessert (白果腐竹薏米糖水)

Do you miss this delicacy of Ginkgo Bean Curd and Barley Sugar dessert? When did you most recently enjoy or make it? Ginkgo, commonly known as ginkgo. It is very popular when used to cook bean curd sheets. I went to a dessert house two days ago. The waitress was serving this dessert to a young lady who was sitting next to me. I overheard that lady comment about that dessert is different from other dessert houses. So, I give it a go. I am not sure how it was different from other dessert houses. But it is different from what I had before. It is creamy, smooth, and rich in flavour. So, I am going to copycat this, and my family loves it so much. Especially youngsters who do not like any small chunks to chew on with liquid dessert. This dessert can be cooked on the stove or pressure cooker. There's a catch, though: Yuba sheets or bean curd sheet, also known as Fu Chuk, come in a variety of forms.   If you opt for making this dessert over a stove, need to choose the kind that disso...
Post a Comment
Read more