XO酱草虾 Shrimp with XO Sauce

Pinyin: XO jiàng cǎo xiā

Shrimp are just damn delicious so they frequently make their way to my dinner table. I'll give this dish bonus points for looking great as well as tasting great. I've never been huge on presentation one way or the other, growing up eating home cooked American meals of potatoes and canned vegetables there wasn't a lot in the presentation department, but I'm learning to appreciate it.

The shrimp have been sliced along the bottom from head to tail and they've been cooked in XO sauce. Then stacked nicely on this dish with just a few sprigs of onion added on top for some color contrast. XO sauce has a unique flavor that is sweet and salty and in my opinions suits an American palate quite well.

It was a bit strange that the shrimp were sliced along the bottom. It allowed the juices to sink in which was nice, but it was slightly different getting the shells off, more difficult but not impossible. This dish was a definite win and I won't hesitate ordering and then devouring it.

Update: A similar dish I wrote about before: 油爆虾 Shrimp Stir Fried in Soy Sauce

石烤虾 Sweet and Sour Shrimp Skewers

Pinyin: shí kǎo xiā

Pure ecstasy on a stick. Nice large whole tiger prawns that have been roasted on a stick while being bathed in sweet and sour sauce composed of tomatoes, pineapples and various other delicious spices in a very Yunnan food style makes my mouth water just thinking about it. The waiter brought out a dozen of them and I could hardly control myself knowing that six of those juicy morsels were mine.

The tangy flavors in the sauce hit the pallet wonderfully as you were tearing their heads off with your teeth. Interestingly enough you just eat the skin rather than spitting that part out. Just chew thoroughly, it ends up being way easier and tastier than de-skinning them. If shrimp is your thing, and you crave sweet and sour, it's totally impossible to go wrong with this dish.

水晶虾仁 Cyrstal Shrimp

Pinyin: Shuǐ Jīng Xiā Rén

Just looking at these gets my mouth watering. It's pure ecstasy in it's utter simplicity.

Plump shrimp that have been suateed in a little oil till they burst in your mouth when you bite into them have been laid out on a plate. In the corner of the plate is a small bowl with a splash of vinegar thrown in for dipping purposes.

The taste is heavenly, the shrimp are slightly salty but still fresh and lite. The vinegar adds a little acidic bite to them for just the perfect twist that makes it such a mouth watering dish.

海鲜锅巴 Sweet and Sour Shrimp over Rice Cakes

Pinyin: Hǎi Xiān Guō Bā

Every once in awhile you run across one of those dishes that you just think to yourself "damn this is pretty good", well this is one of them!

I just recently got back from a trip to Wu Hu in Anhui province and I witnessed some old guys making these rice cakes. I didn't get to see the whole process, but it involved cool cook wear and lots of oil, so I was pretty excited to actually be eating them.

And I was delighted when they poured shrimp in sweet and sour sauce over these rice cakes to make this particular bit of Shanghai cuisine. The rice cakes remained pretty crisp throughout the meal and the sweet and sour wasn't too overpowering. I just wish there were more shrimp.

豆瓣菌菇炒虾仁 Broad Beans and Mushroom Stir Fry with Shrimmp

Pinyin: Dòu Bàn Jūn Gū Chǒu Xiā Rén

This dish goes along the lines of good concept, poor results. Everyone says it looks good. It seems good, it's got shrimp and mushrooms, just a few peppers to add spice.

But in the end I'd have to say it just falls down with those beans. See how damn big they are, nearly the size of my thumb, and when you bite into them it's like biting into a mushy old bean.

Get smaller beans and I'll be back to try this one again, but until then you can keep it all to yourself.