Walnut Shrimp (核桃虾)

Walnut shrimp is banquet food. It appears at Chinese wedding dinners and New Year celebrations, on tables laden with whole steamed fish and Peking duck, and it is always one of the first dishes to disappear. The combination sounds improbable on paper: fried shrimp, mayonnaise sauce, and candy-coated walnuts. But the combination works because each element provides something the others lack.

The shrimp are coated in cornstarch only, not battered, which gives them a lighter, more delicate crunch than the heavy breaded versions many restaurants serve. The candied walnuts require patience. They are fried first at a moderate temperature, then tossed in a simple syrup that is cooked down until it crystallizes into a thin, hard candy shell. The sauce is mayonnaise, sweetened condensed milk, a drop of rice vinegar for balance, and optionally honey. It comes together in a bowl in thirty seconds and goes onto the hot shrimp right before serving.