If you like shrimp, you’re going to want to try this Typhoon Shelter Shrimp recipe. Crispy panko breadcrumbs are tossed in aromatic shrimp oil, along with fried ginger, garlic and chili. This mixture is then tossed with fragrant fried shrimp.
With that description alone, I don’t think I need to tell you how wonderful it smells and tastes!
What is Typhoon Shelter Shrimp?
It is said that Typhoon Shelter Shrimp originated in Hong Kong––Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay to be more specific.
Typhoon season hits Hong Kong from April to June every year. Causeway Bay was the largest typhoon shelter, or bifeng tang (避风塘) in HK back in the days, where merchants, peddlers, fishermen, and their boats converged during storms.
“Typhoon shelter” has since become a style of cooking featuring a signature golden breadcrumb coating, which has been applied to all kinds of ingredients, from seafood and poultry to meats and vegetables like eggplant and mushrooms.
Some of the more popular recipes include Typhoon Shelter Crab, Typhoon Shelter Wings, and of course, this Typhoon Shelter Shrimp.
Recipe Tips Before You Start Cooking
You’ll be shocked as to how easy this recipe is. Just remember two things:
- Don’t over-fry the shrimp, or they will dry out.
- Keep the heat at medium to low when cooking the aromatics and panko, or they may burn.
My final tip: The shrimp oil that you’ll have leftover after making this dish is liquid gold in and of itself. It is extremely fragrant and flavorful, and can be used in dishes like Pad Thai, Hong Kong Style Shrimp Chow Mein, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Shrimp Etouffee.
Don’t waste that oil!
Typhoon Shelter Shrimp Recipe: Instructions
First, trim, de-vein and clean the shrimp as shown:
Shake off any excess water and pat them dry thoroughly with a paper towel.
Add the shrimp to a bowl and toss with ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder and 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine. Set aside for 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Mince the ginger and garlic. Chop scallions and chilies. Measure out your panko breadcrumbs.
Heat 1 cup of oil in a wok to 300 degrees F. While the oil is heating, pat the shrimp again with a paper towel to ensure they’re dry. Any moisture will cause the hot oil to splatter.
When the oil is at temperature, fry the shrimp in two separate batches (this prevents the temperature of oil from dropping too much), for about 15 seconds per batch.
Scoop them out and set aside.
Reheat the oil to ensure it’s back up to 300 degrees F. Re-fry each batch a second time, 5-10 seconds per batch.
Remove the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
Turn off the heat, and carefully scoop out some of the oil into a heatproof container, leaving about 1/3 cup oil in the wok. (You can use less oil, but you also need to reduce the panko accordingly.)
As you can see, the oil has changed color. It is incredibly flavorful, so save it for another recipe!
With the heat on medium low, add the ginger to the oil and cook for 30 seconds.
Then add the garlic…
And the chilies…
Fry for another 30 seconds before stirring in the panko.
Add in the shrimp, salt, sugar, the remaining ¼ teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, and 1/8 teaspoon five spice powder (if using). Also add the scallions.
Lightly toss everything together (still using medium low heat), and serve hot.
Typhoon Shelter Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound large whole, head-on shrimp (450g)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder (plus another ¼ teaspoon, divided)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (divided)
- 3 - 4 slices ginger (minced, about 10g)
- 7 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 3 red chilies (chopped)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (70g)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (or peanut oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon five spice powder (optional)
Instructions
- Trim, de-vein and clean the shrimp as shown in the step-by-step photos. Shake off any excess water and pat them dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Add the shrimp to a bowl and toss with ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder and 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine. Set aside for 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Mince the ginger and garlic. Chop scallions and chilies. Measure out your panko breadcrumbs.
- Heat 1 cup of oil in a wok to 300 degrees F. While the oil is heating, pat the shrimp again with a paper towel to ensure they’re dry. Any moisture will cause the hot oil to splatter.
- When the oil is at temperature, fry the shrimp in two separate batches (this prevents the temperature of oil from dropping too much), for about 15 seconds per batch. Scoop them out and set aside.
- Reheat the oil to ensure it’s back up to 300 degrees F. Re-fry each batch a second time, 5-10 seconds per batch. Remove the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
- Turn off the heat, and carefully scoop out some of the oil into a heatproof container, leaving about 1/3 cup oil in the wok. (You can use less oil, but you also need to reduce the panko accordingly.)
- With the heat on medium low, add the ginger to the oil and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the garlic and chilies, and fry for another 30 seconds before stirring in the panko.
- Add in the shrimp, salt, sugar, the remaining ¼ teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, and 1/8 teaspoon five spice powder (if using). Also add the scallions.
- Lightly toss everything together (still using medium low heat), and serve hot.
nutrition facts
Hello Judy, the recipe is great. I’ve tried it. But I did not get that beautiful red colour that the pictures show. Any advice?
Thank you
Hi Soorya, the red color comes from shrimp (with head and shell); shrimp turns red once cooked :-)
I had this style but with pork. I bought pork shoulder, how would you recommend cooking with pork shoulder? Like marinade, flour and egg mixture and fry ahead of time? Or is there a recipe I can reference just the pork part… Maybe similar to sweet and sour pork? Thanks!
Hi Sandy, I’d marinate and fry the pork as salt and pepper pork chops, then coat with the cooked panko mixture :-)
Thought this was delicious and visually very striking – will definitely include it when I’m next making a big feast. I think I’ve tried a variation that used cornflakes rather than panko, which I’d like to try and reverse engineer at some point now that I know how simple the basic method is.
Only thing I’m wondering now is if you’d get a more flavourful oil by separating and chopping the heads to deep fry separately? I know it would look a little less impressive, but I’m guessing a lot of people would be squeamish about eating the heads as is, and it’s a bit of a waste to see them stacked up at the side of the plate…
Thanks for the recipe, as always.
Hi Paul, I do like the idea of using cornflakes. Just grind it to a coarse mixture similar to Panko. You can also cook the shrimp heads first in the oil for more flavor and more intense color.
Are the shells left on the prawns? Is it ok to remove head, tail, and swimmers before cooking?
Hi Susan, I suppose you can, but just know that the meat will be slightly tough.
thank you for this recipe. I always thought this is a dish you can have only at an authentic Cantonese restaurant. It turns out to be so easy and delicious. I had no idea that panko is what makes the crunchy “crumbles.” They are so good by themselves that I would consider them the star of the dish!
Yeah, it’s pretty easy for a dish that looks so complicated.
I was looking for a recipe for Garlic Prawns from Fernado’s over in Macau. This looks similar, but I’m not sure Fernado’s uses panko. Did you ever dine at Fernado’s in Macau?
Hi Jeremy, we only had one dinner in Macau and we went to Antonio Restaurant. We were lucky that Antonio served us himself, what an experience that was!