Waterless Ginger Scallion Braised Shrimp (Better than Boiled)

Place 500g of fresh shrimp into a large bowl and pour in about 500ml of clean water to fully submerge them. Let soak for a few minutes so the shrimp can spit out any impurities.

Take each shrimp and use kitchen scissors to snip off the sharp rostrum on the head. Squeeze the head gently and use the tip of the scissors to tease out the black stomach bag, pulling it along with the entire digestive vein. Finally, trim off the shrimp legs and whiskers.

Place all the trimmed shrimp into the bowl, pour in about 500ml of clean water to rinse thoroughly, then scoop them out into a colander to drain excess water completely.

Slice 30g of fresh ginger into even thin slices. Slice 4 cloves of peeled garlic into thin slices, and place them on a plate with the ginger slices.

Cut 4 stalks of scallions into 5cm long sections. Slice half a red onion into thin strips, and loosen the layers by hand before placing them on a plate.

Finely mince the remaining 4 cloves of garlic and place them in a small dipping bowl. Slice 5 bird's eye chilies into small rings and finely chop 1 scallion into scallion greens. Add them to the bowl along with 1 tbsp of toasted white sesame seeds.

Spread the onion strips evenly across the bottom of a non-stick skillet using chopsticks. Layer the garlic slices and ginger slices over the onions, and top with the long scallion sections. Spread the drained shrimp evenly on top in a single layer. Drizzle 2 tbsp of cooking wine and 1 tbsp of Chinese white spirit (baijiu) over the shrimp without adding any water.

Cover with a tight lid and heat over medium-low heat. After about 1 minute, the vegetables will release moisture and aromatic steam, and the shrimp will gradually turn pinkish-red. Continue braising over medium-low heat for a total of 5 minutes until the pan is full of steam and all shrimp have turned bright orange-red and curled.

When the 5-minute timer is up, lift the lid to check that the shrimp are completely red. Immediately turn off the heat, cover the pot tightly again, and let it rest in the residual steam for another 5 minutes so the shrimp stay juicy and tender.

Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a small saucepan until lightly smoking. Pour the hot oil directly over the bowl of minced garlic, chilies, scallions, and sesame seeds to release their intense fragrance. Stir briefly, then add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp chicken bouillon, 0.5 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, and 1 tbsp fragrant black vinegar. Mix thoroughly to make the dipping sauce.

Uncover the pan. Using chopsticks, pick out the cooked shrimp one by one and arrange them neatly in an overlapping circular fan pattern on a serving plate with heads pointing inwards. Serve immediately with the prepared dipping sauce.