Shrimp with lobster sauce is a classic Chinese takeout dish made of plump, succulent shrimps and peas and carrots served in a generous amount of savory white sauce with feathery egg white ribbons. It's incredibly easy to make, takes less than 30 minutes, and is perfect over a bowl of steamed white rice and some egg rolls on the side.
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Ingredients for making shrimp with lobster sauce
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Shrimps - At my parents' restaurant, they usually use large shrimps (21/30 is the typical size). We also recommend using larger shrimps for better presentation and to give the dish a meatier texture. However, if you prefer, you can use smaller shrimps.
- These shrimps will be marinated with Shaoxing rice wine, salt, cornstarch and a little bit of oil. It'll get the shrimps seasoned and velveted (aka a Chinese cooking technique to protect and keep delicate protein juicy) for cooking.
- Water, chicken bouillon powder, salt, sugar, white pepper - This makes the base broth of the dish. The sugar may not be expected, but we highly recommend not skipping it! It helps round out the flavor of the sauce.
- Garlic and green onion - These two are the aromatics of the sauce, and they also add another layer of flavor.
- Peas and carrots - They are the most common vegetable used in shrimp with lobster sauce. We like to use frozen ones and all you have to do is thaw them out and drain any excess water.
- Cornstarch slurry - For thickening the sauce. Simply mix together even amounts of cornstarch with cool or room temperature water.
- Toasted sesame oil - To add a hint of toasted, nuttiness to the sauce.
How to make shrimp with lobster sauce
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
1. Marinate the shrimps. In a bowl, mix together the shrimps, shaoxing rice wine, and salt until well combined. Then add the cornstarch and mix until no more dry cornstarch is visible and the shrimps are evenly coated. Finish by mixing in the oil. Set aside until needed.
2. Make the base broth. In a wok or large saucepan over medium high heat, add the garlic and the white part of the green onion. Stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
Then add the water, chicken bouillon powder, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Bring it to a boil.
3. Cook the shrimps. Once the broth comes to a boil, add the marinated shrimps all at once and stir to separate them. Cook the shrimps until just cooked, about 30 seconds but cook time will depend on how big the shrimps are.
They will look pinkish orange and will almost curl into an "O" shape. Remove the shrimps from the broth and set aside.
4. Thicken sauce. After removing the shrimps, reduce the heat to medium and give the prepared cornstarch slurry a good mix. While stirring the hot broth, drizzle in the cornstarch slurry. Let the broth cook for a few seconds until thickened. Stir occasionally.
🌟 Pro tip: To make this step easier and more foolproof, you can take the pot off of the heat for a moment as you stir in the cornstarch slurry.
5. Make egg ribbons. When the sauce has thickened, add the peas and carrots and give everything a stir. Then drizzle the beaten egg whites into the sauce in a thin stream and in circles.
Let the egg whites sit for a couple of seconds and give it a stir to create egg ribbons.
6. Finish. Add the shrimps back into the sauce along with the sesame oil and green onions. Stir to combine. Serve the shrimp with lobster sauce over rice and enjoy while hot!
Recipe tips
- Don't overcook the shrimps! Shrimps cook very quickly, somewhere around 30 seconds, depending on the size. So once they turn pinkish orange, looks opaque, and curls into almost an "O" shape, take them out.
- Add the shrimps back into the sauce at the very end. This will prevent the shrimps from cooking further and becoming over cooked.
- Stir the sauce while drizzling in the cornstarch slurry. This helps to distribute the slurry and prevent it from cooking in clumps, which means the sauce may not thicken properly and you'll have undesirable clumps in the sauce.
- Thaw and drain the peas and carrots to prevent them from thinning out the sauce.
Storage
Leftover shrimp with lobster sauce can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Just make sure to let it cool completely before covering and refrigerating. We do not recommend freezing it as cornstarch thickened sauces do not freeze well.
Reheating
You can reheat the shrimp with lobster sauce in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Microwave method: Place the leftover in a microwave safe container and cover loosely. Microwave until hot and stir midway through so that it heats up as evenly as possible. Avoid overheating to prevent overcooking the shrimps.
Stovetop method: Transfer the shrimp with lobster sauce into a pot over medium heat. Heat until everything is hot and stir occasionally.
📝 Note: As the shrimp with lobster sauce cools, it may become thin. If needed, you can thicken the sauce again with some cornstarch slurry. If doing so, we recommend using the stovetop method and starting with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with equal amounts of water. Simply drizzle the slurry into the hot sauce while stirring. Allow the sauce to cook for a few seconds until thickened.
FAQ
Those feathery white pieces in shrimp with lobster sauce are egg white ribbons. Similar to the egg ribbons in egg drop soup, which is made with whole eggs, the white egg ribbons in this dish is made with only the egg white.
Contradictory to its name, shrimp with lobster sauce does not contain any lobster. Originally, it was actually a lobster dish, but it was later adapted to be more affordable at takeout restaurants. So the lobsters were swapped for shrimps.
In place of cornstarch, you can use potato starch to thicken the sauce and to marinate the shrimps.
📖 Recipe
Shrimp with Lobster Sauce
Ingredients
To marinate the shrimps:
- 1 pound large shrimps peeled and deveined
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon oil any neutral cooking oil
For the rest of the dish:
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- white pepper generous dash or to your preference
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch mix every 4 tablespoon of cornstarch with 4 tablespoon of cool water to make slurry
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots thawed and drained
- 2 large egg white beaten *see note
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced (about 2 cloves per tablespoon)
- 1 stalk green onion sliced (keep the white and green parts divided)
- 1 tablespoon oil any neutral cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Marinate the shrimps:In a bowl, mix together the shrimps, shaoxing rice wine, and salt until well combined. Then add the cornstarch and mix until no more dry cornstarch is visible and the shrimps are evenly coated. Finish by mixing in the oil. Set aside until needed.
- Make the shrimp with lobster sauce:In a wok or large saucepan over medium high heat, add the garlic and the white part of the green onion. Stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Then add the water, chicken bouillon powder, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Bring it to a boil.
- Once the broth comes to a boil, add the marinated shrimps all at once and stir to separate them. Cook the shrimps until just cooked, about 30 seconds but cook time will depend on how big the shrimps are. They will look pinkish orange and will almost curl into an "O" shape. Remove the shrimps from the broth and set aside.
- After removing the shrimps, reduce the heat to medium and give the prepared cornstarch slurry a good mix. While stirring the hot broth, drizzle in the cornstarch slurry. Let the broth cook for a few seconds until thickened. Stir occasionally.
- When the sauce has thickened, add the peas and carrots and give everything a stir. Then drizzle the beaten egg whites into the sauce in a thin stream and in circles. Let the egg whites sit for a couple of seconds and give it a stir to create egg ribbons.
- To finish, add the shrimps back into the sauce along with the sesame oil and green onions. Stir to combine.
- Serve the shrimp with lobster sauce over rice and enjoy while hot!
Notes
- Egg white - Shrimp with lobster sauce is usually made with egg whites only to give the dish white egg ribbons. If doing so, you can save the egg yolks for another use. If you don't mind the egg ribbons being a little yellow, you can just use 1 whole egg instead of 2 egg whites.
Anna Marie Henwood says
Can you substitute bay scallops for the shrimp? Any changes to the recipe? TIA
Mei says
Hi Anna! We've never tried making this dish using bay scallops, so I'm not sure how it'll taste together. In terms of cooking, the bay scallop will take less time to cook than shrimps. Also, because bay scallops are very light in flavor, you may want to substitute the salt for some fish sauce to give the sauce some extra seafood flavor. If you try it, we'd love to know how it turns out! =)
Mei ❤️
William says
I am 74 . I made your Wontons ,Egg Fried Rice, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce ,the 2x versions . It was fantastic. My wife and son both said it was way better than the takeouts around us . I will try to add some ground pork to the Lobster sauce to make it like I had eons ago. My wife found a few more ,of your recipes she wants me to try . Thank you for your recipes
Humm now to figure out how to add photos
Mei says
Hi William! Thank you so much for taking your time to leave us such a sweet comment! We're so happy to hear that you all have been enjoying our recipes and hopefully many more =)
The additional ground pork sounds delicious in the shrimp with lobster sauce. We have seen this version at some Chinese takeout restaurants. If you're adding it, we recommend stir frying it in the pan first then continue with the recipe.
Also, I think our comment section doesn't allow photo uploads, but we'd love to see it! Feel free to email us at [email protected] or tag us on social media!
Mei ❤️