Chinese Takeout Recipe: Honey Walnut Shrimp (Tôm Chiên Giòn Mật Ong)

Honey Walnut Shrimp is a widely popular Chinese-American takeout dish. It's crunchy succulent shrimp dressed in a creamy honey-mayo sauce, topped with caramelized walnuts. It is a tasty appetizer or when eaten with steamed white rice, a filling entree that's loved by many.

Eating this dish at a restaurant can be quite expensive. Plus, the restaurant’s version uses small shrimp that are heavily battered and drenched with too much sauce. Making this at home is not only economical, but I can have it just the way I like it, using quality ingredients.

I originally published this recipe in 2017 and recently tweaked the syrup portion of the recipe. I found that the sugar syrup for the walnuts would crystallize if I don’t get the temperature and timing just right. Heating sugar is always so tricky. I discovered that adding a different type of sugar, corn syrup in this case, into the mixture successfully prevents crystallizing. This eliminates the need for a candy thermometer to gauge the exact temperature and I get a bit more leeway in timing. The addition of a small amount of corn syrup gives the sugar syrup an error cushion, making the syrup foolproof.

Recipe below. Happy cooking.

Chinese Takeout Recipe: Honey Walnut Shrimp

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

Shrimp

• 1 lb medium-size shrimp (size 21-25; peeled and deveined)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 (pinch) ground black or white pepper

Candied Walnuts

• 1/2 cup walnut halves
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Shrimp Batter / Deep Frying

• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• Oil for deep-frying

Honey Sauce

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. Marinate shrimp with salt and ground black/white pepper. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, make the candied walnuts. Heat up a small frying pan on medium high. Add walnuts and gently toss until roasted on all sides (30 seconds to 1 minute). Transfer toasted walnuts to a small bowl.
3. To the now empty frying pan, make the sugar syrup. Add water, sugar and corn syrup. Mix until combined then heat on high until mixture is completely dissolved. Once the mixture starts to turn color around the edges of the pan, add walnuts and toss evenly. Transfer walnuts individually to parchment paper, leaving spaces in between each walnut halve to prevent sticking.
4. In a medium-size bowl, whisk egg whites and cornstarch until corn starch is completely dissolved. Add marinated shrimp and gently toss until coated.
5. Heat up oil in a pot for deep frying. Drop in the battered shrimp one at a time to prevent sticking. Once cooked (about 1-2 minutes), transfer shrimp to a plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack to remove excess oil.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, honey and condensed milk. Add fried shrimp and candied walnuts. Toss until evenly coated with the mixture. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately for best results.