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Less than 10 ingredients in my Jalapeño Salt and Pepper Shrimp! Quick fried shrimp tossed with sliced jalapeños, onions, and chopped cilantro. Such an easy weeknight dinner recipe!
Salt and pepper jalapeño shrimp…. or salt and pepper prawns if you’re English!
It’s a delicious Cantonese dish that widely available in restaurants that sell Chinese cuisine. It has a savory sweet crunchy texture. Don’t worry, I’m not deep frying this or anything! We’re going to cook them right in one pan until golden brown.
My love affair for this easy dish started at a restaurant close by to my house. Slightly sweet and succulent shrimp in just the right ratio of sugar and salt and pepper. And it’s just about the most fantastic things I’ve put in my mouth.
It’s a quick dish that can be made on a weeknight and the best part is that you need less than 10 ingredients to put this together.
F A B U L O U S ! Who would think such a simple sounding recipe would pack so much flavor. Great job. My husband ate 2/3 of the entire recipe! We shared the rest for lunch today, with a green salad. I LOVE all your recipes, they always satisfy.
Ingredients for salt and pepper shrimp recipe
- Shrimp: I like to use large shrimp for this recipe. Peel and devein the shrimp. You can leave the tails on or take them off.
- Sugar: Just a hint of sugar helps balance the pepper mixture!
- Spices: you’ll need kosher salt, black pepper or white pepper, and some garlic powder. You could also add some Sichuan peppercorns that are ground up, but I don’t
- Cornstarch: helps hold in the moisture of the shrimp so that when you’re stir-frying they are perfectly tender! Many people also use tapioca starch, but it’s not an ingredient I can find in mainstream grocery stores, so I opted for cornstarch.
- Egg whites: lightly beaten, they are the ‘batter’ for this crispy salt and pepper shrimp
- Onion: add sweetness and some flavor. Many restaurants use scallions here, but my favorite version used yellow onions
- Jalapenos: thinly sliced so that they bring just a hint of heat to every bite.
- Cilantro: for garnish and to add a little earthiness
- Oil: we’ll only need a couple tablespoon because we aren’t frying them, there isn’t any excess oil!
How to make salt and pepper shrimp
- Make the batter. In a bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cornstarch and egg whites. This is the batter that we’ll add the shrimp to and then fry in a wok or skillet.
- Cook the shrimp. Add a glug of oil to a large skillet over medium high heat.Then add ⅓ of the shrimp mixture to the skillet. Let the shrimp cook and curl. Then remove to a plate and cook the remaining shrimp the same way.
- Finish. Add a drizzle oil to cook the onions and jalapeños until fragrant. Add the shrimp back to the pan and toss everything. Sprinkle with a mixture of salt and pepper.Then top with cilantro and serve with rice.
Rice Serving Suggestions
- Hibachi Fried Rice
- Best 15-Minute Fried Rice
- How to Make Perfect Basmati Rice
- Instant Pot Coconut Rice
Other recipes you might like
- Chinese Buffet Jalapeno Chicken
- Sticky Garlic Gochujang Chicken
- Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry
- Garlic Lovers Pepper Steak
- Easy Broccoli Beef
Jalapeno Salt and Pepper Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds large shrimp dried on paper towels
- 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 egg whites
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- 1-2 jalapeños thinly sliced
- 3-4 tablespoon avocado oil or any high heat oil
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
Instructions
- BATTER: Dry the shrimp on a paper towel. In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cornstarch, and egg whites. Add the shrimp to the batter and stir to combine.
- SAUTE: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add one-third of the shrimp and cook for about 1 minute on each side until 'c' shaped. Remove to a plate. Continue cooking remaining shrimp the same way wth more oil.
- FINISH: If there is no oil left in the skillet, drizzle a teaspoon of oil and allow it to heat. Add the sliced onions and jalapeños to the pan and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until they are fragrant. Add all the shrimp back to the skillet and using a spatula, toss the shrimp around so they are evenly coated with the onions and jalapeños. Sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and black pepper to just season everything. Let cook for another 1-2 minutes before removing from the heat.
- SERVE: Top with chopped cilantro and serve with white, brown, or fried rice
Notes
- You can remove the tail or leave them on for the shrimp. Either will work!
- Feel free to remove the jalapeños before serving if you want this to be more mild. I also recommend using just 1 jalapeño for a milder spice level.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Just made this and it is SO GOOD! love it thanks so much
F A B U L O U S ! Who would think such a simple sounding recipe would pack so much flavor.
Great job. My husband ate 2/3 of the entire recipe! We shared the rest for lunch today, with a green salad. I LOVE all your recipes, they always satisfy.