Smoked Red Shrimp from Lu Island
A famous Xiamen dish prepared with large red shrimp, using marinating, steaming, and smoking techniques to deliver a rich, fragrant aroma.
Ingredients
Fresh large shrimp (washed, antennae and claws removed)
12
Pickled sour radish
100 g
White sugar
10 g
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
10 g
Shaoxing wine
15 g
Light soy sauce
15 g
Five-spice powder
2.5 g
Sichuan peppercorn powder
0.5 g
Fennel seeds
0.7 g
Star anise
1 g
Dried tangerine peel
1 g
Dahurian angelica root (bai zhi)
1 g
Sesame oil
10 g
Cilantro (for plate garnish)
10 g
Dried sugarcane bagasse (for smoking)
to taste
Instructions
1
Marinating
Wash the large shrimp, trim off the antennae and claws, and snip the rostrum back to the eyes. Place them in a large bowl and add the Shaoxing wine, white sugar, light soy sauce, MSG, five-spice powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, star anise, fennel seeds, dried tangerine peel, and dahurian angelica root. Mix thoroughly and marinate for 30 minutes. Then transfer to a bamboo steamer and steam over high heat for 10 minutes. Remove, drain off the marinade, discard the fine spice bits, and load the shrimp into a prepared small wire cage.
2
Smoking
Prepare two wooden boxes sealed on three sides, with the openings facing up. Take one small brazier and pack it with dried sugarcane bagasse. Ignite the bagasse, then blow out the open flame so it smolders into smoke. Immediately place the smoking brazier inside one of the wooden boxes. Suspend the wire cage holding the red shrimp inside the box, about 16 cm above the mouth of the brazier, then seal the box tightly with its lid and smoke for 10 minutes before removing.
3
Plating
Remove the smoked shrimp and arrange them on a serving plate. Drizzle with the sesame oil and garnish the rim of the plate with cilantro and pickled sour radish. Serve immediately.
