Blanched Shrimp with Ginger-Scallion Dip (Bai Zhuo Xia)

The story

Bai zhuo — "plainly blanched" — is the Cantonese test of ingredient confidence: perfectly cooked shrimp, cold and snappy, dunked into a hot ginger-scallion oil. It is dinner-party impressive and takes ten honest minutes.

Ingredients (5 + pantry staples)

• Frozen peeled shrimp (tail-on is prettiest) — 1 lb / 450 g
• Ginger — half a knob: 3 slices + 1 tbsp grated
• Scallions — 2, finely sliced
• Soy sauce — 2 tbsp
• Toasted sesame oil — 1 tsp

Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): salt, cooking oil (1 tbsp for sizzling). Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.

Steps

1. Boil a pot of well-salted water with the ginger slices. Add shrimp; cook 2–3 minutes until pink and curled. Drain (an ice-water bath makes them extra bouncy).
2. Pile grated ginger and scallions in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Pour 1 tbsp hot oil over — it will sizzle and perfume.
3. Stir soy sauce into the dip. Serve shrimp warm or room temperature with the dip alongside.

Swaps

The ginger-scallion dip is Cantonese all-purpose: identical treatment for blanched greens, poached chicken, or plain noodles.