Honey Walnut Shrimp

Put 1 cup walnuts into a small pot. With a kettle, boil some water and pour it over the walnuts until fully submerged.

Use a spoon and stir the walnuts in the water for a few seconds, then drain the water. I do this again once more until the water is no longer cloudy. This process helps to remove the bitterness of the walnuts. Make sure to drain the water very well.

Place the pot onto the stove and set it to medium-low heat. Then add 1 tablespoon oil. Toast the walnuts for 5 minutes. Keep stirring them so they don't burn.

After you have toasted the walnuts for about 5 minutes, add 1¾ tablespoons sugar (or honey), ¼ teaspoon salt (optional) and ½ tablespoon butter, and keep stirring until the sugar melts and starts to become syrupy.

Toast them in the sugar syrup and butter for about 4-5 minutes or until they are golden brown. I take them off the heat, once the butter bits turn brown at the bottom of the pot.

On a large plate, or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the walnuts on a single layer to cool. Make sure they aren't touching each other, or else they will be stick together. They will be slightly oily, since we 'deep fried' them in a pot, but don't worry, we won't be transferring the oil to the final dish.

Combine¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (or 1½ tablespoons of honey), ¼ teaspoon rice vinegar, and ½ teaspoon soy sauce in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Set this aside.

Finely chop 1 stalk green onion and set them aside for the end.

If you're using frozen shrimp, make sure the shrimp has fully thawed before you start this step. If you are using shelled shrimp, peel it first, then butterfly the shrimp by making a slit down its back. This means you'll need to cut along the back about 1/4 inch deep to split them for more surface area. Once done, set them aside.

In a bowl, beat 1 egg, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce together. I like to use the whole egg to keep things simple, but you can use just the egg whites if you want a crispier shrimp. Add the butterflied shrimp into this egg mixture and let the egg fully coat it.

Place ½ cup cornstarch on a large plate. Then, take each shrimp one by one and coat it in the starch. Make sure you also get starch along the slit to give it a more crispy surface area once it's deep-fried.

In a small pot, heat oil on medium-high heat. To test if the oil is hot enough to start deep frying, stick a wooden chopstick or the back of a wooden spoon in the oil. If it starts to bubble, the oil is hot enough to use.

Fry each shrimp in the oil for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry in batches, if necessary, until they turn golden brown. If you are using potato starch, make sure to add the shrimp one at a time so that they don't stick together. I like to wait 10 seconds for a hard crust to form before adding the next shrimp.

Once all the shrimp have been deep-fried, I add them back into the oil and fry them again for 30 seconds. Double frying makes the batter crunchier.

Wait for the Shrimp to Cool Slightly - It's important not to mix the hot shrimp with the mayonnaise sauce right away. The heat from the shrimp will melt the mayo into oil, which will make the sauce oily, and not creamy.

Once the shrimp has cooled for a minute or two, toss the shrimp and finely minced green onions in the sweet sauce mix until they are fully coated.

Finally, toss in the candied walnuts.

Enjoy as is or serve it with a bowl of rice!