Saeu-twigim (Fried Shrimp)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-quart pot or Dutch oven
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Kitchen shears or small paring knife
• •Long chopsticks or tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the shrimp

   Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on, and remove the dark vein. Pat them dry with paper towels. Water on the shrimp turns to sputtering in the oil and pushes the coating away, so be more careful here than feels necessary.

2. 2

   Score them straight

   Lay each shrimp belly-side up. Make 4 shallow crosswise cuts along the underside, just deep enough to relax the muscle, then turn it over and press gently along the back until it lengthens. This is why saeu-twigim fries straight instead of curling tight. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and cheongju, then rest 10 minutes.

3. 3

   Mix the sauce

   Stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, sugar, scallion, and sesame seeds if using. The sauce should be salty and sharp, not sweet. Fried shrimp needs a clean edge beside it, not another heavy thing.

4. 4

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a heavy pot so it is at least 2 inches deep. Heat to 340 degrees F, or 170 degrees C. If you don't have a thermometer, a drip of batter should sink halfway, rise, and bubble steadily, not brown at once. A thermometer is better. Guessing with oil is how dinner becomes an argument.

5. 5

   Make cold batter

   Whisk the flour, 2 tablespoons potato starch, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. In a second bowl, beat the cold egg with the ice-cold sparkling water. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir 8 to 10 times with chopsticks or a fork. Stop while small lumps remain. Smooth batter makes a thick coat; lumpy cold batter fries light.

6. 6

   Dust and dip

   Put the 1/2 cup starch on a plate. Dust each shrimp lightly, especially where you scored it, then shake off the extra. Hold the tail and dip the shrimp into the batter, leaving the tail clean. The starch gives the batter something dry to grip, which is why the crust stays attached.

7. 7

   Fry in batches

   Slide 4 shrimp into the oil at a time, laying them away from you. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until the coating is pale gold and crisp and the shrimp is just cooked through. Do not crowd the pot. Too many shrimp drop the temperature, and then you are boiling batter in oil instead of frying it.

   Skim loose batter bits between batches. Burnt crumbs cling to the next shrimp and make clean oil taste tired.
8. 8

   Drain and serve

   Lift the shrimp to a wire rack, not a paper-towel pile, and let them stand 1 minute so the crust stays crisp. Serve at once with the soy-vinegar sauce. Twigim waits for no one politely; call people to the table before the last batch comes out.

Chef Tips

• •Buy shrimp that smell clean and briny, never sharp. Large shrimp, 16 to 20 count per pound, give you enough body to score and straighten without tearing.
• •Keep the batter bowl set over ice if your kitchen is warm. Cold batter hitting hot oil is what makes the coating light; warm batter drinks oil.
• •A wire rack matters. Paper towels trap moisture under the shrimp, and the bottom softens while you congratulate yourself too early.
• •You can fry vegetables in the remaining batter after the shrimp: sweet potato slices, perilla leaves, onion wedges. Fry seafood first, vegetables second, so the shrimp flavor doesn't carry where it shouldn't.

Advance Preparation

• •The shrimp can be peeled, deveined, scored, and kept covered in the refrigerator up to 6 hours ahead. Pat them dry again before dusting.
• •The dipping sauce can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Add the scallion close to serving if you want it fresh and green.
• •Do not mix the batter ahead. Measure the dry ingredients in one bowl and chill the egg and water, then combine them only when the oil is nearly hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)