What is the name of the cantonese dish of bacon wrapped around shrimp?

Question

In the 1980's I used to frequent Jimmy Wongs cantonese restaurant in Chicago. I had a dish there which featured shrimp with bacon wrapped arouund it. It also had fried rice and I think a couple of pieces of barbeque. I can not remember what it was called on the menu and have been trying to find out by calling different cantonese and chinese restaurants but to no avail. They have not heard of this dish and the only thing close was chicken wrapped in bacon. If anyone remembers what it is called or have been to Jimmy Wongs' back in the day, please let me know.

Answer 1

Butterfly Shrimps

Answer 2

I had bacon wrapped shrimp at a dim sum restaurant once, but it wasn't called butterfly shrimp.

And the reason Chinese and Cantonese restaurants probably didn't know what you were talking about is because that is a Chinese-American dish, not Chinese.

I had Bacon Wrapped Shrimp (it was pretty much butterfly shrimp with bacon wrapped around it) as a dim sum dish once, but never as a Chinese dish.

So, my advice would be to go to a dim sum restaurant. I have seen many more Americanized "Chinese" dishes at dim sum restaurants.

Answer 3

Butterfly Shrimp (China)

1 1/2 pounds fresh large shrimp

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 slices bacon

2 cups vegetable oil

Remove shells from shrimp, leaving tails intact. Cut each shrimp down the back using point of small sharp knife. Remove vein. Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper toweling. Cut deep slit down back of each shrimp. Flatten cut side slightly with fingers.

Beat egg yolks, cornstarch, salt and pepper with fork. Dip each shrimp into mixture. Cut bacon into 1 1/2 x 1/4-inch strips. Place a bacon strip on cut side of each shrimp.

Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat until it reaches 400 degrees F. Fry shrimp, a few at a time, in oil until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.

Makes 4 to 6 entree servings or 8 to 10 appetizer servings.

Answer 4

On Jimmy Wong's menu, it was listed as "Butterflied Shrimp".

This is the closest I cound find.

I always greet with trepidation requests that begin with "about 30 years ago ..." They almost always involve long-lost dishes from long-gone restaurants. Often, even the restaurant name has been lost to the past.

But there's nothing like a challenge, right? Even if the original is gone forever, sometimes a reasonable facsimile can be found.

"About 30 years ago I was able to purchase from a local Chinese restaurant a dish called Butterfly Shrimp," wrote Audrey Simmons. "The shrimp was butterflied and wrapped in bacon and coated with egg and fried.

Butterfly Shrimp with Bacon

24 large shrimp

8 slices bacon, cut in thirds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

» Sauce:

3 tablespoons EACH sugar, rice vinegar and ketchup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

Shell and devein shrimp, leaving tails intact. Butterfly by making a slice down back, not quite all the way through. Spread halves apart and press flat. Wrap a piece of bacon around each shrimp.

Heat wok or skillet over medium heat, then add oil. Dip shrimp into beaten egg and place in wok. Fry 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn and fry another 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels, leaving oil in wok.

To make sauce: Reheat wok. Combine sugar, vinegar, ketchup, salt, water and garlic. Add to oil in wok. Bring to boil and stir in cornstarch slurry to thicken. Serve with shrimp. Serves 4.

I consider this recipe a work in progress because the sauce is not quite right. Simmons describes the sauce of her memory as spicy, with chopped nuts. This one is ketchupy with no nuts, although you could easily add chilies and experiment with peanuts.