Shrimp in Lobster Sauce (No Lobster Here, “Ha Ha Ha” )

Yet another recipe from the gorgeous cookbook, Made Here created by Send Chinatown Love. In a recent post, I wrote about the Made Here cookbook and shared one of its recipes,  Taiwan Bear House’s Lion’s Head Meatballs.  Based in New York, Send Chinatown Love, is a grassroots group created by young, POC professionals in response to the pandemic.  Their goal was to support hard-hit businesses in and around Manhattan’s Chinatown.  Most businesses in Chinatown are small, family-run shops that depend on a cash-only, in-person model. Which didn’t work during the pandemic. Additionally, anti-Asian sentiment kept folks away.  As a result, it was bleak in most Chinatowns throughout the country.

Kudos to Grassroots

Send Chinatown Love raised funds & awareness for NYC Chinatown. They purchased meals from local restaurants with donations, and then distributed them to those in need in the community. Volunteers taught businesses how to create websites, use alternative payment systems, and create social media accounts to broaden their reach. And then (drum roll please), they published a cookbook, Made Here which highlights these small businesses by sharing their stories and recipes.  It’s a beautiful book filled with photos, drawings, and tiny text (my one complaint due to my old eyes).  100% of the proceeds go back to the community.  You can order the book here, it makes a wonderful gift.

Shrimply Delicious and Easy to Make

Wing Hing’s recipe for Prawns in Lobster Sauce caught my eye.  It is an iconic Cantonese-American dish with absolutely NO lobster in it.  Rather, it has sauteed prawns in a sauce made with ground pork, chicken stock, and egg.  It is a riff on an old Chinese dish, Lobster Cantonese.  Cantonese American chefs recreated the dish using shrimp (widely available and cheaper) instead of lobster but kept lobster in the name to refer to the velvety sauce.  Now that’s what I call great marketing.

Assemble your ingredients first, mise on place is essential in Chinese cooking, especially in wok or stir-fry recipes.

The Ingredients

Shrimp- For an everyday meal, use medium size (21-25/pound) to large prawns (16-20/pound).  For special occasions splurge on jumbo shrimp (10-12/pound) Clean, peel, and devein shrimp.  This will be the most time-consuming part of the recipe.

Shaoxing wine- Chinese wine for flavor

Chicken stock- Base for sauce

Peas-For contrast and color, fresh peas would be lovely but frozen peas are fine

Egg-For flavor and texture. The raw egg is stirred into the simmering sauce to create ribbons of eggs

Cornstarch-To thicken sauce

Scallions- For garnish and flavor

The ROI for this dish is great.  It only takes minutes to make, yet the chorus of oohs and aahs it elicits will make you smile.

Eggs are not only used to thicken the sauce but also to add richness and creaminess.  Without ⬆️ , With ⬇️ 🍳🥚

I like to serve it over steamed rice, but it would be equally yummy over noodles.

Enjoy!

Print Pin

Sauteed Prawns with Lobster Sauce

Classic Cantonese American Dish, Shrimp in Lobster Sauce that doesn't have lobster. Delicious and easy to make. Adapted from Made Here from Send Chinatown Love

Course main dish, seafood

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword Cantonese cooking, Lobster sauce, prawns, shrimp

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces raw peeled and cleaned shrimp 16 to 20 per pound
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
• 1/4 lb ground pork
• 1/2 tsp salt

Aromatics

• 1 clove garlic grated
• 1 tsp fresh ginger minced

Sauce Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing Wine or Sherry
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp sugar

Thickener

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons stock or water
• 1 large egg, beatened

Garnish

• 1/2 cup green peas fresh or frozen
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• Steamed white rice for serving or noodles would work too

Instructions

• Peel shrimp. Using a small paring knife, butterfly shrimp, shallow cut down the length of the shrimp (don't cut through). Devein and rinse shrimp with cold water. Pat dry with paper towel and set aside.
• Crack egg into a small bowl and whisk to blend.
• Combine chicken stock, toasted sesame oil, wine, sugar, white pepper in bowl, set by stove.
• In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 2 tablespoons stock or water, set aside.
• Heat oil over high heat in a large frying pan or wok, swirl oil around pan. Add ground pork and season with salt. Cook for a couple of minutes until pork loses its pink color, tossing frequently.
• Add shrimp to pan and cook for thirty seconds or until shrimp just turn pink.
• Add chicken stock mixture and reduce heat to medium-low, then add peas. Pour cornstarch slurry into pan and stir to incorporate. Bring the mixture to a simmer to thicken sauce about 1-2 minutes. Once sauce has thickened, reduce heat to low.
• Whisk egg and drizzle all over the sauce in a thin stream. Let sit undisturbed to allow the eggs to start to set, about 10-15 seconds. Gently stir in one direction with a spatula or cooking chopsticks to create ribbons of egg.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with sliced green onions
• Serve with freshly steamed rice.