Shrimp in Lobster Sauce

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Succulent shrimp and ground pork in a silky and flavourful sauce SO perfect for serving on steamed rice. A classic American-Chinese take-out dish made better at home.

Meet my new favourite weeknight dish!! It’s so delicious and high in protein from shrimp, pork and eggs. After the shrimp is prepped, the dish comes together in less than 15 minutes, in one pan.

🎥 Watch video for Shrimp in Lobster Sauce

Shrimp in Lobster Sauce was introduced to me serendipitously in a group chat and I was instantly drooling. But, what the heck is ‘lobster sauce’?? Following a flurry of text messages, I find out that it in fact, does not contain any lobster. Let’s discuss…

According to my internet sleuthing, the sauce was dubbed ‘lobster sauce’ because it is the style of sauce that used to be widely served over lobsters at westernized Chinese restaurants in America. The sauce is basically stock thickened with cornstarch slurry with ginger, scallions, eggs plus variations in basic Chinese seasonings. My good friend Melissa’s parents used to own a restaurant serving Chinese and westernized Chinese dishes, so big shout out to mama Lam for sharing her recipe with me! I hope this dish wins over your heart and stomach as it has mine.

Eat well and be well,

Sonia x

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Steps at a glance

(Scroll down to recipe card for the full recipe.)

• Prep shrimp - thaw, butterfly, remove shells and veins

• Marinade shrimp, set aside

• Prep all other ingredients (scallions, garlic, ginger, cornstarch slurry, egg)

• Stir-fry shrimp, set aside

• Stir-fry aromatics and ground pork

• Add all sauce ingredients

• Add shrimp

• Thicken with cornstarch slurry

• Swirl in whisked egg

• Finish with sesame oil and scallions

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Tips and FAQs

1. What is ‘lobster sauce’?

   Lobster sauce in fact, does not contain any lobster — not even tomalley, as I hazarded to guess at one point. According to the internet, the sauce was dubbed ‘lobster sauce’ because it is the style of sauce that used to be widely served over lobsters at westernized Chinese restaurants in North America. The sauce is basically stock thickened with cornstarch slurry with ginger, scallions, egg plus variations in basic Chinese seasonings including soy sauce, white pepper powder and Chinese cooking wine.

2. Pro Tip for Perfectly Cooked Shrimp

   Overcooked shrimp is tough and rubbery. Shrimp should be succulent and sweet so make sure not to overcook them. When stir frying the shrimp at the beginning, aim to cook them only 80-85% (when they just turn from grey to pink) and finish cooking later as it simmers in the sauce to absorb all the yummy flavours.

3. Type of Shrimp to Use

   I always recommend frozen, uncooked shell-on shrimp. I prefer larger shrimp in general, anywhere between 15 to 21 count, e.g. “jumbo shrimp”. For shrimp, “count” is the number of shrimp in a pound, also indicating average size of each shrimp in the pack. The higher the number of shrimp in a pound, the smaller the individual shrimp are, and vice versa. Of course, any size works in this recipe. To save time and get this dish made in 30 minutes, I buy shell-on shrimp already butterflied and deveined (Longo’s brand with the word “easy peel” on the bag, for those who live in my city). What a godsend!

4. Shaoxing Wine

   Shaoxing wine is a famous Chinese rice wine from the city of Shaoxing, China. Higher quality versions are consumed as a beverage but it’s the inexpensive version that is used ubiquitously in Chinese cooking. It is used in marinades, sauces and braised dishes. It adds a nuanced flavour distinctive to many Chinese dishes. Consider it similar to the use of wine in French and Italian cooking. You’ll need to visit a Chinese grocery store to purchase it. I’ve seen it online on Amazon but at exorbitant prices so I don’t suggest getting it there. If you can’t get your hands on a bottle of Shaoxing wine, for this recipe where only 2 tbsp is used in the sauce, you may substitute it with Japanese sake (grab an inexpensive bottle from the LCBO or liquor store), Chinese clear rice wine “michu” if you have it, or dry cooking sherry. If you can’t get any of those or simply prefer not to use it, omit the wine and add a splash more water to make up the liquid for the sauce.

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Shrimp in Lobster Sauce

Yield: 4

Author: sonia wong | www.saltnpepperhere.com

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Shrimp in Lobster Sauce (better than take-out)

Succulent shrimp and ground pork in a silky and flavourful sauce SO perfect for serving on steamed rice. A high in protein, classic American-Chinese take-out dish made better at home.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

For marinating shrimp:

• 1 lb raw large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tsp corn starch
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 dashes white pepper powder
• Drizzle of toasted sesame oil

For the dish:

• ½ lb (225g) ground pork
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 slices fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1½ C (355ml) chicken broth
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 C (140g) frozen peas and carrots mix
• 3 tbsp cornstarch, whisked with 2 tbsp of water for a cornstarch slurry
• 2 eggs
• Kosher salt to taste
• Toasted sesame oil to finish
• High heat oil for cooking

For serving:

• Steamed white rice

Instructions

1. Prep and marinade shrimp: Peel and devein shrimp, then rinse well and pat dry. Place in a bowl with marinade ingredients and set aside.
2. Set a wok or large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, drizzle a bit of oil and add shrimp in single layer if using a skillet or all at once if using a wok. Cook about 1.5 minutes (flipping once if cooking in a skillet or stir frying constantly if using a wok) or until shrimp has just turned from grey to pink but is not cooked all the way through. Scoop out and set aside. Splash a bit of water and scrap off any stuck residues with a spatula. Discard and wipe clean.
3. Add another drizzle of oil. Add scallion white parts, garlic and ginger. Sauté until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add ground pork, along with kosher salt to taste (start with ¼ tsp) breaking up the clumps and stir fry about 3 minutes or until brown on the edges.
4. Add Shaoxing wine to the pork mixture and give everything a few turns, scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, frozen peas/carrots. Bring to a simmer, taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking. Reduce heat to low. Re-whisk cornstarch slurry and drizzle about three-quarter of it slowly into the liquid while mixing. Use the rest of the slurry only if needed. Simmer to thicken, about a minute or until sauce coats the back of the spatula. If sauce is too thin, add remaining cornstarch slurry. If too thick, add more chicken broth or water and bring back to a simmer.
5. Discard the ginger slices now if you want. Add back reserved shrimp.
6. Add the two eggs, immediately breaking the yolks up a bit with the spatula while keeping some white and some yolk distinct. Cook on low heat to 90% done, with some runniness remaining. Fold the eggs into the sauce with a few turns of the spatula and finish cooking. Turn heat off and drizzle sesame oil. Garnish with scallion green parts. Serve over white rice.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

426

Fat

23 g

Sat. Fat

6 g

Carbs

23 g

Fiber

2 g

Net carbs

21 g

Sugar

1 g

Protein

31 g

Sodium

1602 mg

Cholesterol

267 mg

Disclaimer: nutritional information is auto-generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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