Updated on June 26th, 2022
Chinese lemon pepper shrimp consists of crispy fried shrimp tossed with a sweet lemon and pepper sauce. Some of the key ingredients in the sauce include soy sauce, lemon juice, and brown sugar. If you want an additional flavor you can add a little grated lemon zest as well. What I like to do is stir fry a few lemon slices with the garlic and ginger to give the oil a nice lemon flavor. The shrimp can be either fried in the wok or cooked in the deep fryer. This Chinese dish is very simple and makes for a quick and delicious dinner. This recipe can easily be doubled if you want it to make more servings. Serve with white rice. Enjoy.
(Makes 2 Servings)
PrintChinese Lemon Pepper Shrimp Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Scale
- 1lb medium raw shrimp (peeled and deveined with tails removed)
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 4 lemon slices
- 2 green onions (sliced)
Sauce- - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh garlic (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- A ¾ cup of water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a shaker bag or sealable plastic bowl coat the shrimp with a ½ cup of cornstarch. Let the shrimp sit for about 5 minutes so that the cornstarch will adhere better. Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil in a wok (or large skillet) over medium heat. Add the shrimp to the wok and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until the shrimp are lightly browned and fully cooked. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Dump out the oil.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and lemon slices and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add soy sauce, and then dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a ¾ cup of cold water, and add to the wok. Add brown sugar, lemon juice, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Toss the fried shrimp with the sauce and top with green onions.
I love the simple flavors in this! And it looks so easy – perfect for a weeknight dinner. Can’t wait to give this a try!
Made this last night for dinner! Very tasty and flavorful. I thawed frozen shrimp in water, and should have dried the shrimp prior to adding the cornstarch because it didn’t stick.
Had this for supper tonight, completely delicious
I made this for dinner last night. My family really enjoyed it!!!
wow, this looks super easy and delicious! anne
Do you think it would be ok to serve this with pasta?
Irene-Yes, I think that would be delicious!
I just made this for lunch. My husband and I LOVED it!
made this for dinner tonight and I had to tweak it a bit cause I had started to make it and realized I didn’t have cornstarch! So I substituted (flour)…and then I did add a bit more brown sugar and just used a whole lemon cause I LOVE lemon. Delish!
i try this recipe for my saudi employer today and they like it….thanks for this recipie this blog help me a lot…God bless to all