Satay Beef with Gai Lan
Tender beef slices in sweet-salty satay sauce, served over crisp gai lan — a quick stir-fry.
← Home · Shanghai shrimp quick
Oil-Blast Shrimp
Shrimp flash-fried in hot oil until the shells turn crisp and red, in a lightly sweet, savoury glaze. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 油爆虾, report 164.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 油爆虾_164.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 15 minutesServings: 1–2Difficulty: MediumRegion: Shanghai (Benbang)Flavour: Savoury, lightly sweet
Why this works
Oil-blast shrimp is a ten-second dish, and every preparation step exists to protect those ten seconds. The shrimp must be completely dry before they meet the oil, because surface water turns a flash-fry into a spattering boil and drops the temperature. The oil must be at 180–190 °C, hot enough that the shells crisp and redden almost instantly, and the shrimp must come out within 12 seconds at the latest, while the meat inside is still tender. After that, speed matters again: ginger and scallion get 20 seconds to perfume the base oil, wine goes in around the edge of the pan so it flashes off and carries away any fishiness, and the whole saucing — soy, sugar, toss — is finished in 5–8 seconds, for a total saucing time under 45 seconds. Leave it a moment longer and the glaze dries out, the shells soften, and the dish you just raced to make is gone.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh river shrimp, whole and shell-on, 3–4 cm each | 5.3 oz | 150 g | Small whole shell-on shrimp or prawns are the substitute (adaptation). Trim whiskers and rostrum, rinse twice, and drain thoroughly. |
| Scallion, in two parts | 0.5 oz | 15 g | 10 g cut into 3 cm sections for blooming; 5 g cut into flower garnish, which must be fully cooked (see steps). |
| Ginger, sliced | 2 tsp | 10 g | — |
| Yellow wine (Shaoxing) | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 ml | Poured around the edge of the hot pan so it flashes off. |
| Light soy sauce | 2 tsp | 10 ml | — |
| Sugar | 2 tsp | 8 g | Balances the salt and gives the glaze its shine. |
| Neutral oil, for deep-frying | 2 cups | 500 ml | Only about 40 ml is actually lost per batch (from the report); strain and reuse for frying (adaptation). |
| Neutral oil, for the base | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | — |
Equipment
- Deep pot or wok for frying — a smaller pot uses less oil (adaptation)
- Thermometer for the oil
- Slotted spoon or spider
- White shallow serving plate
Steps
- Prepare the shrimp and scallions. Trim the shrimp's whiskers and rostrum, rinse twice, and drain until completely dry — no surface water, or the oil will spatter. Cut 10 g scallion into 3 cm sections. Cook the 5 g scallion flower separately: either blanch for 10 seconds or fry in a little base oil until lightly yellow. It must be fully cooked before garnishing.
- Flash-fry for 10 seconds. Heat the frying oil to 180–190 °C, until the surface just smokes. Add the shrimp and fry fast for 10 seconds — never more than 12 — until the shells turn red and the bodies curl. Lift out and drain immediately.
- Bloom the aromatics. Heat 15 ml base oil in a clean pan on high heat and fry the ginger slices and scallion sections for about 20 seconds, until fragrant.
- Sauce in under 45 seconds. Add the fried shrimp at once. Pour the wine around the edge of the pan so it flashes off instantly, then add the soy sauce and sugar and toss fast for 5–8 seconds, until the sauce thickens and glazes every shrimp. Plate at once on a white shallow dish, pour over any remaining sauce, and scatter with the cooked scallion flower.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Technique: 10 seconds in, 45 seconds to sauce
The report's tolerances are tight on purpose: oil at 180–190 °C, shrimp in for 10 seconds plus or minus 2, and the whole saucing finished within 45 seconds. Cooler oil leaves soft shells; longer frying makes the meat tough and the shells hard; longer saucing dries the glaze and squeezes moisture from the shrimp. Dry shrimp are a safety matter too — water in hot oil spatters. Check a shrimp's centre reaches at least 70 °C (from the report).
Variations
- Peeled shrimp.: Peeled shrimp cook even faster at home; judge by colour and curl rather than the 10-second timing, and expect a softer, less crisp result (adaptation).
- Less oil.: Shallow-fry in a smaller pot in batches (adaptation). The shells will be less evenly crisp than in a full deep fry.
- Make-ahead flavour pack.: The report notes the wine, soy and sugar can be pre-mixed as a sauce pack, so the 45-second saucing step is a single pour (adaptation for home use).
Frequently asked questions
Why did my shrimp shells stay soft?
The oil was probably below 180 °C, or the shrimp were wet going in. Dry them thoroughly and wait for the oil to just smoke.
Why is my shrimp meat tough?
The fry ran past 12 seconds, or the saucing dragged on. Both stages are measured in seconds, not minutes.
Can I use frozen shrimp?
Yes if fully thawed and dried very well (adaptation). Any surface water will spatter dangerously in 190 °C oil.
Storage
Best eaten immediately, while the shells are crisp and the glaze is glossy. The report advises against holding this dish: the sauce fades fast. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat gently until steaming throughout and expect soft shells. Do not reheat more than once.
Oil-Blast Shrimp — Recipe Card
Flash-fried shell-on shrimp in a lightly sweet, savoury glaze.
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 15 minutesServings: 1–2
Ingredients: 150 g whole shrimp; 15 g scallion; 10 g ginger; 20 ml yellow wine; 10 ml light soy; 8 g sugar; 500 ml frying oil; 15 ml base oil.
Steps: 1) Trim, rinse and dry shrimp completely; cook the scallion flower garnish. 2) Fry at 180–190 °C for 10 seconds, drain. 3) Bloom ginger and scallion sections 20 seconds. 4) Add shrimp, wine around the pan edge, soy and sugar, toss 5–8 seconds, plate at once.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Related recipes
Three Delights from Earth
Eggplant, potato and green pepper, fried then tossed in a savoury sauce — a classic Northeastern home dish.
Hakka Sticky Rice
Steamed glutinous rice with pork, dried mushrooms and dried shrimp — savoury, filling and warming.
Newsletter note: the signup form on the homepage is a static placeholder and does not collect or send anything.
Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 油爆虾 (data/reports/164.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Original poster image: clouchef.com (油爆虾_164.jpeg). Serving size for home use (1–2), the shrimp substitute, the smaller-pot frying note and the frozen-shrimp note are adaptations and are labelled as such.