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Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Oooooof, writing a blog post after skipping 2 weeks feels a lot like going to the gym after a month of being a couch burrito… I know that feeling all too well. How have you been?! I hope the 901248 days of January weren’t too excruciating for you. January was an incredibly weird, long, stressful, and busy month for me, so I’m very happy that it has passed and we’re just inching closer and closer to spring time. The days are getting a little longer so I don’t have to scramble as much to get food made and shot before the sun goes down!

Hmmm, what has happened the last 2 weeks? Time for some bullet points!

  • After 2.5 years of waiting for a garden plot at our local community garden, we finally got one! Then it turns out the perfect plot we selected was already taken (whomp whomp), so we then had to reselect among the shady remaining plots… oh well! Fingers crossed we still get at least 2 Chinese eggplants and a few green beans this year!

  • I flew up to Portland last week for a quick trip with Adidas! I taught a dumpling workshop for their Lunar New Year celebration and it was such a blast! That office is so hip and cool. A few of my favorite humans live in Portland and whenever I leave Portland I’m nagging Reuben to move there with me.

  • Coronavirus caused our Shanghai trip to be cancelled… such a bummer! But I’m more sad for everyone over there that’s on lockdown and even more sad for those who are sick. We should have been leaving in 2 weeks, but it looks like it’s just going to keep getting a lot worse before it’s safe enough for us to reschedule our trip!

  • We’re looking to buy a house! Which is terrifying and exciting. When we pull up to an open house I like to narrate in my head as if we’re on an episode of House Hunters.

  • I taught my first class at Draeger’s Cooking School and I’m excited to be teaching there ALL YEAR LONG. Yup! The kitchen is so big and well stocked with every pot, pan, and rolling pin you would ever need! I’ve loved the scrappy dumpling classes I’ve taught around SF, but it’s very nice to have a real kitchen and people to help me prep and clean up! I could get used to this.

  • I saw my best friend, Katie, nearly everyday for a week! From Portland to San Francisco to Tahoe! All my closest friends are spread across the country, so I’m lucky if I get to see them once a year. Katie and I always make an effort to see each other at least 4 times a year or fate just places us in the same city more times that usual.

  • Watched all of Cheer in a single evening and I’m hooked. Sad that’s it over. I need a Jerry alarm clock to help me get pumped up in the morning.

There you have it! A mix of exciting and very normal life updates. Now, let’s discuss Salt and Pepper Shrimp. I love fried shrimp in any form. It’s a love I share with my Mom : ) If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life and be guaranteed that it wouldn’t shorten my lifespan, it would be fried shrimp. Salt and Pepper Shrimp is always on the table when my family goes out a big Chinese feast at a restaurant. But did you also know that it is incredibly easy to make at home? 3 of the 4 main ingredients are already in the name.

It’s sounds silly to say, but Salt and Pepper Shrimp is really just… salt, pepper, shrimp, and rice flour for an extra crispy coating. So easy. Whenever you have a super simple recipe like this you want to try and have the best ingredients that you can find. Which is why I’ve been loving the shrimp from Fulton Fish Market! Their selection of seafood is HUGE, so fresh, sourced sustainably, and available for delivery within 1 day! So if you don’t live in an area that has great access to seafood, I highly encourage you to check out Fulton Fish Market! Use the code EATCHOFOOD and enjoy 10% off! They also encourage you to eat seafood twice of week, if both those meals could be friend shrimp then I’ll have absolutely no problem with that!

I like to use large shell on shrimp for this recipe. The rice flour creates a really light and crunchy coating. Cornstarch is also a great alternative too. Once the shrimp take a quick dip in hot oil, you toss the warm shrimp with s+p, and then top with sliced jalapeños and fried garlic. If the shells are thin enough I typically eat the shrimp shells on. It’s normal I swear! But if you prefer to peel the shrimp that’s totally fine too!

This recipe is such a quick and easy recipe that will be sure to impress whoever you’re cooking for (hint hint, V-Day is this Friday!). Or just make it for yourself and enjoy the splendor of not sharing your fried shrimp with anybody!

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Serves 4

materials:

2lb wild caught shell-on shrimp
1 cup rice flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
2 jalapeños - sliced
Fried Garlic
Canola Oil for frying

  1. Pat shrimp dry. Place rice flour and 1 tsp of salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

  2. Heat 1” of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.

  3. Working in batches, coat the shrimp in rice flour and then carefully place in the hot oil. Fry on one side for 2 minutes and then flip to cook for 1-2 more minutes. Place fried shrimp on a platter lined with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining shrimp.

  4. Toss fried shrimp with salt, pepper, sliced jalapenos, and fried garlic. Serve immediately.

Thank you, Fulton Fish Market, for sponsoring this post!