Kkanpung Saeu / Sweet & Sour Fried Shrimp

Fried shrimp are my favourite type of fried food. The crispy tails, the juicy shrimp— just always hits the spot. Paired with an irresistible sauce? I’m immediately interested.

Kkanpung Saeu is a Korean-Chinese fried shrimp dish. Sweet, sour and spicy, a well balanced fusion of flavours.

For this recipe I partnered with O’Food to bring you a simple meal that encounters all of the essential ingredients of Korean cooking, in just one dish.

To build the sauce base: Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar & Corn Syrup. The salty, sour and sweet trio. Not to mention Gochugaru, for a sidekick of spice.
To finish: the nutty aroma brought to you by Sesame Oil.

But the not so secret ingredient is: MSG. (“why does it taste so good?”)

You can find all of these ingredients to make this recipe in their new Kitchen Essentials Box here.

So lets get started!

Recipe:

For the Shrimp:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined, tails left on

• 1/4 cup potato starch

• 1 egg

• 1L canolia oil, for frying

Prepare the shrimp by removing the shells, but keeping the tails on. De-vein, and dab off any excess moisture with a paper towel

For the batter:

In a small bowl add the potato starch and egg. Whisk to combine.
Fill a pot or large saucepan with oil. Place over medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot, take your shrimp (sure it is dry, or it will splatter when fried) and dip the shrimp in your potato starch batter. Transfer the battered shrimp to the hot oil. Repeat with remaining shrimp.

Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the sauce.
Note: If you prefer a shrimp that will stay more crispy, I recommend frying it a second time— for about 2 minutes.

For the Sauce:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 3 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp corn syrup

• 1.5 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp canola oil

• 1-2 tsp gochugaru or red pepper flakes

• pinch MSG

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• 1 tsp minced ginger

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 1 green onion, sliced thinly

• 2-3 green korean peppers, sliced

• 2 tsp sesame oil

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, corn syrup and sugar. Set aside.
In a wok or a large pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Sprinkle the gochugaru overtop and turn the heat to high. Add the garlic and ginger. As soon as it starts to sizzle cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, careful not to burn it. Turn the temperature down slightly and quickly add the prepared vegetables. Give it a good toss.

Pour your prepared soy mixture into the wok and stir to combine. Add the MSG.

Once the liquid has reduced slightly, turn the temperature down and throw in your fried shrimps. Toss to coat in the sauce, for about 30 seconds. To finish, drizzle over your sesame oil and toss to combine.

Transfer to your serving plate top with scallions, and eat right away!

Because this dish is fried and sauced, the texture does not keep well as leftovers. Enjoy fresh!