Honey Walnut Shrimp

All of the festivities surrounding Chinese New Year were definitely exhausting this year. I guess we were trying to make it as festive as possible with our little boy experiencing his first Chinese New Year. Of course, as with any festivity, there were lots of dinners and food in general around. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to join in all of the cooking as I was on mommy duty but I managed to make a few things.

This was a dish I decided to make for one of the Chinese New Year family dinners that we hosted this year. We had ordered this dish at restaurants in the past and everyone always seemed to enjoy it so I thought I'd take a crack at it. I would say that it ended up being a crowd pleaser since there was nothing left afterwards.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Shrimp
1/2 cup Walnuts
3 tbsp. Mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp. Honey
2 tbsp. Condensed Milk
1 tbsp Half and Half Cream
1 tsp. Lemon juice
1 Egg White
1/2 cup Corn Starch (for coating the shrimp)
Oil for frying

For the Walnuts:
1/3 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Honey
1/2 cup Water
Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and deveine the shrimp. Pat dry with paper towels, add the egg white, mix well with the shrimp and set aside.

In a small pot, bring about half a pot of water to a boil. Add the walnuts and allow to boil for a few minutes. This will remove the skin. Drain and set aside.

Bring the 1/2 cup of the water to a boil, then add in the sugar and 1/3 cup of honey. Keep stirring until it turns thick and golden color, then add the walnuts. Coat the walnuts in the mixture, then remove from pot.

Heat up oil for frying in a wok. Add the walnuts into the hot oil and briefly fry not allowing them to burn. Remove and place walnuts on parchment paper to dry.

Coat the shrimp with a thick layer of corn starch, then fry in the hot oil until golden brown. Remove shrimp from the wok and drain on paper towels.

In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey, condensed milk, half and half cream and lemon juice. Add shrimp and walnuts, then toss to combine in the mayonnaise sauce.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve!