Honey Walnut Shrimp is one of the most popular and delicious dishes you can order at a Cantonese Restaurant. It is a crispy battered shrimp covered in sweet creamy sauce, topped with candied walnuts, and served with broccoli! Typically the only time we'd eat this while growing up was at a wedding or at special celebrations held at a Chinese banquet. Traditionally, the shrimp is deep fried. We decided to make a healthier version with our Ninja Max XL Air Fryer. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can pan fry or deep fry for about 1 min. each side.
Ingredients
Candied Walnuts:
1/2 cup Walnuts
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp honey
Shrimp:
1 lb large Shrimp, deveined & unshelled
1/4 tsp White pepper
1/2 cup Tapioca flour
1 egg, beaten
Sauce:
1/4 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Condensed milk
1 tsp Honey
2 tsp Rice vinegar
1/2 lemon, juice
Instructions
For crunchier walnuts, air roast walnuts at 350F for 3 minutes. Boil water in a pan. Add brown sugar and simmer until it thickens. Add walnuts and stir often to coat all of it. Drizzle some honey and mix well. Place walnuts on wax paper & let cool.
Add 1/4 tsp white pepper to shrimp & let sit for 30 minutes. Pour beaten eggs in bowl of shrimp then add flour. Mix until shrimp is completely coated. Shake off excess flour.
Preheat air fryer at 390F for 3 minutes. Spray oil in air fryer basket, place shrimp in basket without crowding. Work in batches. Air fry at 390F for 7 minutes. After 5 mins, spray oil on shrimp and flip over. Cook until crispy.
Mix mayonnaise, condensed milk, honey lemon, rice vinegar in a bowl. Add fried shrimp to sauce & mix well. Transfer to a plate and top with walnuts. Add cooked broccoli to complete this classic dish!
Notes:
*Tapioca flour can be substituted with corn starch, potato flour, and AP flour.
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