Salt and Pepper Shrimp (椒盐虾)

Name: Salt and Pepper Shrimp (椒盐虾)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 lb shrimp (, peeled and deveined); 1/2 cup cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon white pepper ((*Footnote 1)); 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 3 cloves garlic (, minced); 2 red chile peppers (, sliced (Optional))

By Maggie Zhu

• Published Jun 6, 2026

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This salt and pepper shrimp is perfect if you are looking for an easy appetizer. It is a 20-minute Chinese dish with juicy shrimp inside a crispy cornstarch coating, tossed at the end with sliced garlic, and a Northern-style salt and white pepper mixture.

Salt and pepper shrimp, 椒盐虾, is a Northern Chinese appetizer I grew up ordering at restaurants when seafood was an occasional treat. In China it is usually fried head on and shell on so you can crunch through every part of the shrimp, then tossed in a salt and pepper mixture and served with cold beer. For my home version I peel the shrimp first so the dish shows on the table in a form that is easier for most Western home cooks, without losing the crisp, salty, garlicky character of the restaurant original.

Growing up in Northern China seafood was not on the everyday table, so this dish always tasted a little celebratory to me. When my husband and I want a small sharable Chinese meal at home, I make this as the lead appetizer because it scratches the same itch as a restaurant order without the headache of getting through the shells. Once I started using frozen peeled shrimp on busy nights, it turned into a dish I can plan around the freezer instead of a separate trip to the seafood counter.

On a weeknight I tackle it in this order, dry the shrimp, toss them in cornstarch with a pinch of salt, then shallow fry in oil until the coating crisps. After draining the shrimp on a wire rack, I cook a quick aromatic base with garlic and optional red chile in the same pan, then toss the fried shrimp with a salt and white pepper mixture so every piece is seasoned. The whole dish takes me only 20 minutes to make. I recommend you to make it once and you will see why it lives on the appetizer plate in so many Northern restaurants.

Ingredients

I split the ingredients into three short groups, the shrimp and its coating, the frying oil, and the aromatic finish. Here is what I use:

The shrimp and coating: I use peeled and deveined shrimp because that is the form most home cooks have on hand, fresh or frozen. The coating is just cornstarch with a small amount of salt, which crisps into a light, almost feathery shell when shallow fried. I do not use flour or a wet batter here because the cornstarch alone gives a cleaner crunch that holds up under the salt and pepper toss.

Frying oil: Vegetable oil at about a quarter inch deep in a medium pan does the work of shallow frying without committing to a full deep fry setup.

Aromatic finish: Sliced garlic and red chile peppers, optional but worth using, build the warm and slightly spicy base for the toss. The salt and pepper mixture itself is one part salt to one part white pepper, the classic Northern ratio. If I want a different profile, I substitute ground Sichuan peppercorns for the white pepper, which moves the dish toward a tingly numbing finish. White pepper is what defines the Northern version, though, and is what I default to.

How to Make

1. Dry the shrimp: Pat the peeled shrimp dry with paper towels on both sides. Dry shrimp grip the cornstarch better and splatter less in the oil.

2. Coat in cornstarch: Mix the cornstarch with a small amount of salt on a plate or shallow tray. Add the shrimp and toss until every piece is lightly coated, shaking off any extra cornstarch as you go.

3. Mix the pepper salt: Combine the salt and white pepper in a small bowl and set it next to the stove.

4. Heat the oil: Add about a quarter inch of oil to a medium pan and heat over medium to high until it reaches 375°F. The shallow pool of oil is what gives the coating its fluffy crunch, deeper than a light pan fry but without the cleanup of a deep pot. Test without a thermometer by dropping a small pinch of cornstarch into the oil, which should sizzle immediately and float back up.

5. Set up a draining rack: Line a baking tray with a wire rack so the fried shrimp can drain without sitting in their own oil. Paper towels trap heat and moisture and can leave the bottom of the shrimp soggy, which is why I always reach for a rack when I have one.

6. Fry the shrimp in a single layer: Lay the shrimp into the oil one at a time, holding the tail and lowering each piece in so the coating stays put. Work in batches so the pan never crowds and the oil temperature does not drop. Fry each side for about 2 minutes, until the surface turns pale golden and the shrimp curl. Move the shrimp to the wire rack to drain.

7. Drain the oil for the toss: Pour off the frying oil into a heatproof bowl and leave about 2 teaspoons in the pan for the aromatics.

8. Cook the aromatics: Add the garlic and red chile to the pan and stir for a few seconds, just until the garlic smells toasty.

9. Toss the shrimp: Return the shrimp to the pan and sprinkle in the salt and pepper mixture. Toss for 15 to 20 seconds until every piece is evenly coated. The shrimp are already cooked through, so the toss is for seasoning only, not more cooking.

10. Plate and serve: Transfer everything to a serving plate and serve hot, either as an appetizer on its own or over steamed rice as a main dish.

My Cooking Tips

Pat the shrimp completely dry: Surface water on the shrimp is what makes the coating slide off and the oil splatter. I press the shrimp between two layers of paper towel before they go anywhere near the cornstarch.

Leave the tails on when you peel: I find it much easier to dip the shrimp in the cornstarch and lower them into the oil when I have a tail to hold. The tail also looks more like the restaurant version on the plate.

Test the oil before the first shrimp: A single piece of shrimp dropped in first tells me whether the oil is at temperature. If it sinks and the coating does not bubble right away, the oil is too cool.

Keep the batches small: A crowded pan drops the oil temperature and the shrimp end up steamed instead of crisp. I would rather fry in three batches and keep the oil hot than rush them all in at once.

Toast the white pepper for a deeper flavor: White pepper straight from the jar works, but if I have a minute I toast whole white peppercorns in a dry pan for 30 seconds before grinding. The toasted version smells warmer and gives the finishing toss a stronger character.

How to Serve

At a small Chinese dinner at home, this is the lead-off plate, the dish that goes on the table first while everyone is still settling in. I plate the shrimp hot and let my family grab pieces with their fingers, which is closer to how I ate them growing up than fork and plate eating.

For a fuller party, I build the rest of the meal around the shrimp, with garlic fried rice and a vegetable side as the anchor and one or two more dishes to round out a real Chinese style table. If you want to learn other Chinese shrimp recipes, check out my honey garlic shrimp and 3-Ingredient fried shrimp. For a brunch style spread, I pair it with egg foo young, and for a casual sharing menu I add chicken egg rolls for more finger food.

Frequently Ask Questions

Why is my coating soggy instead of crispy?

Soggy coating almost always comes from one of three things, the shrimp were not dry enough before the cornstarch, the oil was below 375°F, or the pan was too crowded so the temperature dropped when the shrimp went in. The fix is the same in all three cases, slow down, dry the shrimp thoroughly, and fry in smaller batches.

Can I use shell-on shrimp instead?

I do not recommend using this recipe for shell-on shrimp, because it requires a different batter and deep frying, so the shrimp cooks properly and achieve desired texture. If you want to learn to cook shell-on shrimp, leave a comment below and I will add the recipe to my list to develop.

How long do leftovers keep in the fridge?

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days, though the coating is at its best right out of the pan. To revive the crisp, I reheat the shrimp on a baking sheet in a 375°F oven or air fryer for 4 to 5 minutes, which crisps the cornstarch back up without overcooking the shrimp.

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