White Boiled Shrimp

Alternative names	Bai Zhuo Xia; plain boiled shrimp; Cantonese poached shrimp; 白灼蝦
Pinyin	Bái zhuó xiā
Type	Lightly poached shrimp with dipping sauce
Course	Shared seafood / banquet starter
Place of origin	China
Region or state	Cantonese and Guangdong home and restaurant cooking; Hong Kong seafood restaurants; Chinese banquet menus
Other	Poached shrimp with soy-scallion dip — not breaded fried shrimp

White Boiled Shrimp (Simplified Chinese: 白灼虾; Traditional Chinese: 白灼蝦; Pinyin: Bái zhuó xiā; also Bai Zhuo Xia; Cantonese plain-poached shrimp) are fresh shrimp briefly cooked in seasoned boiling water or broth until just opaque, drained, and served with a dipping sauce such as soy sauce with scallion and ginger oil—or other light dips—so the sweet shrimp flavor stays clear. Soft claims that one chef invented "white boiling" (白灼) as a technique for all seafood are folk; the method is a Cantonese classic for shrimp and other delicate seafood. It is not breaded fried shrimp and not heavily sauced stir-fried shrimp.^[1]

Characteristics

Bright coral-pink shells or peeled meat; juicy snap; minimal seasoning on the shrimp itself; fragrant dip on the side.

Ingredients (overview)

Fresh shrimp; aromatics in the poaching water (ginger, scallion, wine in many house styles); soy-scallion or related dip. Overview only.

History and culture

Cantonese banquet and seafood-restaurant staple emphasizing ingredient freshness. English menus say "boiled shrimp," "poached shrimp," or "bai zhuo shrimp." See Guangdong Food and White Cut Chicken.

Serving and variations

Shared seafood plate. See Guangdong Food, White Cut Chicken, and Salt and Pepper Squid.

References

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