Popular on Food52
51 Reviews
MWolfIII
May 4, 2015
I made these yesterday morning for a Sunday Brunch appetizer. These are incredibly easy to make and totally delicious. I added a little tarragon and chili powder in my batter for something different and I was very happy with the results. I know that I will be making these again, they are a perfect spring/summer snack that's easy to make but feels a little fancy! Thanks ChefJune.
nancy E.
December 17, 2014
Made these for my Company Xmas party and OMG, they ae better than crab cakes, better than chocolate, better than many things I have had. So yummy I bought a small fryer so I can make on demand. Thanks Food52, yiou always please me
JohnL
March 4, 2014
This is a very versatile (and well known) batter. For anyone longing for good Chinese-style shrimp "tempura" but never found a crispy puff batter recipe that actually works, one classic easy formula used by many a restaurant is 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp baking powder (mix together just until smooth). Bleached flour works fine. Peel and butterfly a pound of shrimp (26 count shrimp are nice but smaller ones will taste just as good) leaving on tails to use as "handles" (toss with 1 tsp baking soda and salt to taste, and let stand for 10-30 mins. or longer, then rinse shrimp and drain on paper towel). Dip shrimp in the batter and deep fry a few at a time (at 360 degrees) until golden brown. If for some reason the batter isn't sticking, you can give the shrimp a light flour dusting before you dip, but try dipping them naked first). The batter will look too runny if you've never done this before, but resist the temptation to add more flour and it will turn out just like Chinese restaurant! This is one of the Chinese batters Craig Claiborne used. Let shrimp fry 3 or 4 minutes turning occasionally to ensure they are good and crisp and have no fear, the shrimp will not toughen. Drain on paper towels.
Traveler
May 1, 2014
JohnL, I want to try this recipe of yours, but I am confused. Do you use baking powder or baking soda? Also, your directions call for 2 teaspoons of (powder or soda), but I only see one teaspoon used in the directions. Thank you.
JohnL
May 2, 2014
Hi Fisher6168! I must have been in my stream of consciousness mode when I posted that recipe and instruction. The batter itself is a cup each water and flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp baking powder; the purpose of the baking soda is to condition the shrimp so they don't toughen as they fry--you toss the shrimp with baking soda and a pinch of salt and let them stand while you prepare the batter. Before you dip and fry, you rinse off the soda with cool water, drain on towel. I have a couple of other batters that I actually use more often and prefer with shrimp. My beer batter is awesome and turns out nice and puffy/crunchy because of beer and cornstarch (recipe: Whisk 1 cup bleached flour-that's 5 oz.-- with 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp Kosher salt and a pinch of pepper. Whisk in a 12-oz bottle of beer--I like Miller Light--until smooth, let stand 5 minutes. Dust shrimp lightly with Wondra flour and knock off any excess. Dip and fry at 350 for about 4 minutes, in batches if necessary). My other recipe is from Pierre Franey's and Brian Miller's Seafood Cookbook (3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup cornstarch, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 TB vinegar, 2 egg whites, 2 TB oil, 1 cup water--whisk wet into the dry ingredients as in other recipe. Dust shrimp w/flour, dip in the drippy wet batter letting any excess drip back into the batter bowl, and fry. This batter will become fully crisp in only a minute or so. I like the beer batter for Chinese, and the Franey for unsauced shrimp that you dip in tartar sauce etc. I use these last 2 recipes the most, especially with shrimp that aren't too large. An electric deep fryer will save you a lot of headaches. You can often find great old Sunbeams at Goodwill or Salvation Army for $10 or less. Sunbeam electric skillets are also awesome for recipes that call for heating oil in a skillet to a certain temp. These appliances are admittedly old school, but they take all the guess work out of heating oil to the right temperature and keeping it right there. Why don't you try the beer batter first and another time use Franey's and see which you prefer. And then sometime try Claiborne's recipe, which you can use for sweet/sour and fry in advance and re-fry at the last minute for extra crispness.
Muse
January 6, 2013
These look absolutely divine...am going to give them a try for a cocktail party I am having on Friday night!
ChefFace
September 25, 2012
Thak you so much for this recipe. I made them for brunch one morning for out of town friends. I served the beignets with the sauce over savoury herb crepes, 1-2 crepes topped with two of these made all my guests gush, I will definitely be doing this again. I didn't need quite as much aioli as it made, but I won't complain; its delicious enough to use with many other dishes.
Snafu06
March 4, 2012
I thought these were great texturally, but the second time I made them, I salted the lump crab meat just a bit before creating the beignets, which really brought out a strong crab flavor.
knitnbead
December 30, 2011
Well, the beignets were wonderful, however the aioli was a disaster. Six cloves of garlic! You have to be kidding. The final result was more of a paste than a dipping sauce. I made it according to the exact recipe and had to throw it out. The garlic was so strong, it was all I tasted. I made a second batch with some adjustments: used only two cloves of garlic upped the wine vinegar another half tsp. and also added juice of one lemon. That seemed to balance it out more. Only used 1/2 cup of oil and that was enough. Sorry to be so direct and I am aware of other aioli recipes that are very similar but I guess I will stick to my own next time. Again the beignets themselves were devine.
Greenstuff
December 30, 2011
I've never really thought of aioli as a "dipping" sauce, but something a little thicker. And if you didn't like the amount of garlic, my thoughts are that perhaps you smashed it rather than chopped it--it makes a huge difference. Or maybe you just don't like garlic as much as some other people...personally, six cloves of garlic to a cup of oil sounds about right, and no kidding. But good that you have a recipe of your own that you like. You can stick to that one.
ChefJune
December 30, 2011
knitnbead: did you take the green sprout out of the garlic cloves before you chopped it? I realize I didn't specify to do that (mostly because some folks LOVE the strong garlic taste), but I always de-germ the garlic. It keeps it from being overpowering, I think.
ChefJune
December 26, 2011
To answer those of you who are worried about no eggs... the batter holds the beignets together.
boulangere
November 17, 2011
These are on the agenda for an hors d'oeuvres class tomorrow night. Crab, beignets, garlic, what's not to love?
mikenike
June 6, 2011
Definitely on the list to try! Love crab and a fan of Chef June's from the Wine Library.
Ida and Mike
Ida and Mike
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