These days, I've been seeing cream shrimp on restaurant menus quite often. But upon closer inspection, it seems to be almost the same dish as the shrimp mayonnaise I used to make when I worked in a restaurant.

It seems like just the name has been upgraded a bit. It's a dish of Chinese-style fried shrimp tossed in a savory and sweet mayonnaise sauce, which is also a common menu item at Chinese restaurants.

A few days ago, my husband brought home a bag of shrimp he found on sale at the grocery store. After pondering what to make, I decided to whip up some cream shrimp for the first time in a while.

In fact, while cream shrimp looks fancy, it's not that difficult to make. If you fry the shrimp until crispy and get the sauce just right, you can create a restaurant-like atmosphere at home.

Preparing the Ingredients

For 2-3 servings, prepare 400g of cleaned shrimp, about 1 cup of potato starch, 1 egg white, a little water, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine, and cooking oil.

For the sauce, you'll need 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion. Adjust the sweetness and sourness to your taste.

It's also good to prepare some salad vegetables and nuts to accompany the dish.

Starting with the Shrimp Preparation

First, peel the shrimp. If you cut the shell slightly on the belly side with scissors, it comes off more easily than you might think. If you see the black vein on the back, remove it with a toothpick or the tip of a knife.

Pat the cleaned shrimp dry and lightly season with a pinch of salt, pepper, and cooking wine.

The important thing here is to remove moisture. If there's too much water on the shrimp, the oil can splatter when frying, and the batter can become soggy.

Coat the shrimp lightly with some starch first, then mix the remaining starch with the egg white and a little water until it's thick. If the batter is too thin, it won't be crispy, so it should stick thinly to the shrimp.

The Secret to Crispy Frying

Heat the oil to about 170-180 degrees Celsius, then fry the shrimp one by one.

If you add too many at once, the oil temperature will drop, so it's better to fry them in two or three batches.

Once the shrimp are cooked and the batter is crispy, remove them and let the oil drain. Fry them briefly one more time just before serving for extra crispiness.

However, be careful not to over-fry the shrimp, as they can become tough.

Making the Cream Sauce

Mix the mayonnaise with the plain yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, and chopped onion until well combined.

There's also a method that uses heavy cream, but I prefer using yogurt. It balances the richness of the mayonnaise while adding a tangy flavor.

If you don't have yogurt, you can add a little milk to adjust the consistency. Just be careful not to add too much, or the sauce will become too thin.

Now, add the sauce gradually to the fried shrimp and toss lightly. If you add all the sauce at once, you might lose the crispiness of the fried shrimp.

On one side of the plate, arrange the salad vegetables, and on the other side, place the cream shrimp. Finally, sprinkle some crushed nuts on top to finish.

The crispy shrimp with savory cream sauce, paired with refreshing salad, goes really well together.

My husband took a bite and said it tasted like something from a restaurant. Of course, he might have said that because he was hungry.

On days when shrimp are on sale, buy a generous bag and give this a try. It might seem a bit tedious to prepare, but once it's done, you'll have a pretty impressive dish.

It's great as a side dish for rice or for entertaining guests. Especially when made for a weekend dinner, it gives you that nice feeling of dining out.