Subliminal Retreat~

I made this awhile ago when I suddenly craved for the creamy shrimps of Chinese dish " Shrimp with Pineapple" (鳳梨蝦球)...haha
I had thought of ordering that dish at a restaurant but I couldn't think of a restaurant here selling this dish..... I went through all the Chinese restaurants in my hesd-- Cantonese, Shanghai, Beijing...etc...and just couldn't remember ever having " Shrimp with Pineapple" (鳳梨蝦球) or seeing it on any of their menus.
Then it hit me that " Shrimp with Pineapple" (鳳梨蝦球) might be a Taiwanese style dish... that's why it's rare.... that's why I can't find it here.
oh well..... then, one could only rely on oneself at time like this... lol... (It's true, we are the most dependable ones to ourselves especially when there's no one to help us....) Anyway... I am deviating...lol

Nothing's hard to make as long as you have correct and fresh ingredients and tools.



I replaced pineapple with freshly boiled bamboo-shoots and some sweet corns because I wasn't longing for pineapples and wanted to consume what I already have in my fridge. However these shrimps are the type of shrimp I was referring to.

Shrimp Part:

24 medium large shrimps
1 egg white
1-2 tsp salt
1 tbsp (Rice) wine
Potato or yam starch
Vegetable oil

Sauce~
a few tbsp Mayonnaise (I used Japanese low fat one... ah.... if only I could find Taiwanese (Wai-chang) mayo here.)
Juice of (1/4 to 1/2) lemon - optional
2 tsp honey - optional

1. Shell the shrimps. Devein them by cutting in the shrimps from middle line of the body where the vein is (the dark line). Don't halve the shrimp, just cut to about 2/3 deep of body like making a deep score. Pull out the dark vein. After cleaning the shrimps, dry them well with paper towel.

2. Marinade shrimps with salt, wine, and egg white

3. Heat up some vegetable oil in frying pan. Enough to immerse shrimp completely when frying. (The oil has to be very hot )

4. Right before frying, mix some potato starch with shrimps.

5. Deep fry shrimps for 10-15 seconds. Put on paper toweled plate to extract excess oil.

6. Mix sauce with shrimps. (This should be a good time to mix pineapple or other fruits/veggies too if you're using any).




I have to admit that even though these shrimps I made tasted really good, they were still a bit off, a little different from the kind of creamy taste of the best "Shrimp with Pineapple" (鳳梨蝦球) in my memory....

I bet it had to do with the Mayo.... Japanese mayo (or any other kind) just didn't come close to Taiwanese mayo in this dish.

What I liked a lot of these shrimps was that they were crunchy on the surface without thick greasy floury coating.