This is a sponsored post in partnership with the California Walnut Board. All words and opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help us do what we do!
When my family first moved to America, everything felt “international.” We had never gone to an Italian restaurant and a salad bar was a novel idea. Beans! Weird green stuff (that I now know is called celery)! As a kid, the food I looked forward to most when eating out was the bread. I was a bread roll connoisseur. And I loved those little silver foil-wrapped squares of butter.
Slowly but surely, I started dipping my toes into more ethnic foods.
Like many people of my generation, my first real introduction to food that felt distinctly international was Chinese, or rather, American Chinese. No one without Asian parents was going anywhere near chicken feet. There were two things I would eat at a Chinese restaurant: the wanton soup and the walnut shrimp. Both were readily available at any given Chinese restaurant.
The walnut shrimp of my childhood was sticky-sweet (made with condensed milk, no doubt). I liked the walnuts more than the shrimp, picking them out one by one, and savoring them in my mouth until they were all gone. The Chinese restaurants of my youth were not generous with the walnuts.
Over the years, my love for international cooking and eating has grown dramatically, but my love for the Chinese restaurants of my youth have waned. That said, my appreciation for walnut shrimp has remained unbridled. This recipe is by no means authentic, nor is it reminiscent of the viscous, creamy Walnut Shrimp you probably remember eating yourself (or might still be ordering). But, it’s a nod to family eating — the sort that reminds me of who we were, and who we are today. I hope you enjoy it!
Honey-Walnut Shrimp
For the honey walnuts:
2 tablespoons of honey
1 cup of walnuts
pinch of salt
For the shrimp:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of honey
1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 heads of broccoli
1/3 cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
rice, for serving
chopped cilantro, for garnish
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of honey, the walnuts, and a pinch of salt. Spread the walnut mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over low heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 4 minutes. Add two tablespoons of honey and cook about 2 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Add the soy sauce and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until sightly reduced. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, stir, and remove from heat.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until warm. Add the broccoli and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and fully cooked, about 5-6 minutes. Toss with the sauce and walnuts. Serve over rice, sprinkled with cilantro.
This is a sponsored post in partnership with the California Walnut Board. All words and opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help us do what we do!
