Butterfly Shrimp

Butterfly Shrimp is a Chinese-American chef’s special, the kind of dish that filled glossy menus in 1960s Cantonese restaurants and still earns a place at the table. Three components stack on the platter: a soy-glazed bed of stir-fried onions, butterflied shrimp topped with bacon and pan-fried in an egg coating, and a tangy sweet-and-sour sauce poured over the top.

The egg dip is what builds the crust. Each butterflied shrimp gets pressed bacon-side down into beaten egg, then hits a hot oiled wok bacon-side down first so the bacon renders and crisps as the shrimp cook through. Two minutes per side is plenty, the shrimp curl tight and the bacon goes ruddy.

The finishing sauce is a quick reduction of garlic, rice vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and a cornstarch slurry, cooked just until glossy. It’s tangy, sweet, and slightly sticky, the right counterweight to all that bacon-fat richness.

Pro Tips

• Pat the shrimp bone-dry before applying bacon and egg. Wet shrimp won’t hold the coating and the oil splatters dangerously.
• Cook bacon-side down first. The bacon needs more time to crisp than the shrimp need to cook through.
• Have every component prepped before you turn on the wok. The pan-fry and sauce stages move fast.
• Use thin-cut bacon. Thick-cut won’t fully crisp in the four-minute cook window.

Variations

• Swap the ketchup-vinegar sauce for a black-bean-garlic sauce for a saltier, savory finish.
• Add a tablespoon of Shaoxing wine to the soy when stir-frying onions for extra depth.
• Garnish with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds for a more contemporary plate.