Honey Walnut Shrimp

Have you ever been to a chinese restaurant and had Honey Walnut Shrimp?  It's this fried shrimp coated in a creamy, slight sweet sauce, sprinkled with candied walnuts and occasionally garnished with melon balls or broccoli?  It might be my favorite thing to order when I do have chinese food, but it's not cheap.  Well, I knew the internet would have the solution for me...as it turns out, there are many recipes out there for this yummy dish!  I found this one and it worked like a charm!  Just like at my favorite chinese restaurant.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup water 2/3 cup white sugar 1/2 cup walnuts 4 egg whites 2/3 cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour) 1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon canned sweetened condensed milk 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Stir together the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the walnuts. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain and place walnuts on a cookie sheet to dry.
2.	Whip egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Stir in the mochiko until it has a pasty consistency. Heat the oil in a heavy deep skillet over medium-high heat. Dip shrimp into the mochiko batter, and then fry in the hot oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
3.	In a medium serving bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk. Add shrimp and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the candied walnuts on top and serve.

**The original recipe is posted above, however if you're lazy like me, you'd buy candied walnuts from Trader Joe's and skip the first step of the recipe.  Also, I found that you should only whip the egg whites until they begin foaming up.  I beat them into stiff peaks and it made the batter a bit too dry.

recipe via All Recipes