This dish started out as a quest to recreate Tasty’s “Double Crunch Shrimp,” in which shrimp is coated in a tempura-like batter, tossed with panko breadcrumbs, deep fried, and mixed with an Asian-inspired, sweet and salty sauce. Immediately after watching I thought “this could ttttoootttaalllyyyy be made vegan.” Per usual, I WAS RIGHT.

Calm down guys, it was only a joke. I’m not usually right… unless it comes to cooking, in which case you might wanna hear me out. JUST KIDDING. I just can’t stop with the self-prophesizing humor.

As we got closer to testing the recipe, we started to think of how we could switch up Buzzfeed’s recipe, giving it more depth, layers, and that unique, No Eggs or Ham flair. By the time we wrapped up recipe testing, we realized it wasn’t that similar to Tasty’s! It’s still crispy, deep fried “shrimp” in a Chinese-inspired sauce, but the details hold all of the subtle nuances that make this dish pop.

If you’ve followed along with this blog’s previous batter-focused recipes, such as Beer-Battered Squash and Tempura Oyster Mushrooms, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the procedures below. However, we do incorporate a new trick that makes for crispier shrimp, which involves lifting the shrimp out of the oil, drizzling it with extra batter, and dunking it back into the oil. The extra tempura creates extra crunch, which creates extra satisfaction, which creates a happier you. Ya dig?

At first glance, the instructions seem lengthy, but if you take it step by step, you’ll realize it’s not all that complicated. If you’ve ever deep fried something and made a starch-based sauce, this will be a breeze.

We hope you guys enjoy this dish! It’s:

  • Savory, tangy, sweet, and deep
  • Crispy, meaty, crunchy, and saucy
  • Chinese-Japanese fusion
  • Great as a party favor
  • A perfect entree over rice
  • Vegan

Shameless plug: beautiful pita-colored salad plate by Carthage.Co.

If you like what your eyes are tasting, then share this recipe with your friends on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest at @noeggsorham! For more flame-emoji photos, geeky food talk, and mouth-watering dishes, subscribe to our email list. Tag us in a photo when you create one of our recipes at home so we can share it!

When you say “shrimp” so much the audience starts to question if it’s vegan.

Crispy Beer-Battered Panko Shrimp with Sweet Aromatic Soy Sauce & Sesame Toasted Cashews (vegan)

  • Servings: Two
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Print

Vegan shrimp, coated in lime-infused, beer-based tempura and crispy panko breadcrumbs, is deep fried until golden, brown, and delicious. Finished with sweet, ginger garlic soy sauce, toasted cashews, and fresh scallions.

Ingredients

Shrimp

Sauce

  • 3 oz (¼ c + 2 tbsps) soy sauce
  • 1.5 oz (3 tbsps) water
  • 36 grams (3 tbsps) brown sugar
  • 1 oz (2 tbsps) black vinegar*
  • 4 grams (½ tbsp) tapioca or corn starch
  • 1 tbsp chili oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ inch thumb of ginger, cut into matchstick pieces

Other

  • 45 grams (⅓ c) cashews, brown into small pieces
  • ½ tbsp sesame oil
  • Salt
  • 1 green onion, cut into thin rounds
  • Chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions

  1. Place refined oil in a large dutch oven or electric deep fryer over high heat. Bring temperature to 350° F.
  2. Sauce: Heat a large wok over medium heat. Once hot, add in sesame oil, cashew pieces, and a medium pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until cashews are golden in some areas. Transfer to a bowl and set aside for now.
  3. Combine soy sauce, water, brown sugar, vinegar, and starch in an airtight container and shake until frothy. Wipe down wok and return it to medium heat.
  4. Add in chili oil, garlic, ginger, and cook until aromatic; about 1 minute. Add in soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Drop heat to low and keep until shrimp is finished.
  5. Shrimp: Get out 3 large mixing bowls. In one, whisk together ½ cup tapioca starch, large pinch of salt, and a large pinch of white pepper.
  6. In another, whisk together rice flour, cake flour, VeganEgg, and lime zest. Then, slowly whisk in beer until the batter just comes together. Clumps are okay; this important thing is not too overmix.
  7. Add breadcrumbs to a third bowl and place all of them near your deep fryer. Set an inverted cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet with a layer of paper towels in between to wick away excess oil.
  8. Once oil reaches 350° F, place all of your shrimp into the starch bowl and toss to coat. Shake excess starch off of 5 shrimps, dunk into beer batter, then drop into breadcrumbs. Toss around and pat extra breadcrumbs onto the shrimp.
  9. Drop each shrimp into the oil separately (adding no more than 5 at a time). Once they begin to brown lightly, pull them out of the oil using a spider tool or slotted spoon, carefully drizzle on extra beer batter, and drop back into oil. That’ll create extra crunch in the end.
  10. Once they’re golden brown, transfer to cooling rack, and repeat for remaining shrimp.
  11. Assembling: Once all the shrimp are fried, toss them with the sauce, cashews, green onions, and chopped cilantro. Enjoy as an appetizer or serve over jasmine rice for a satisfying entree!

*Black vinegar is also known as Chinkiang vinegar and it can be found in most Asian grocery stores for less than $3. If you can’t find it, go ahead and replace it with rice vinegar. It won’t be as deep in flavor, but it will bring the acidity needed.

Let us know what you think!

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