This Chinese Garlic Shrimp Clay Pot recipe is impressive, very delicious, and surprisingly easy to make.
It is a great candidate for Chinese New Year dinner, not just because it symbolizes wealth and happiness “rolling in,” but also because you can prepare the entire dish in advance! This also makes it a wonderful makeahead weeknight dinner, potluck dish, or dinner party centerpiece.
What Characterizes a Chinese Casserole or Clay Pot Dish?
We love ordering clay pot dishes—also sometimes referred to in English as “casseroles”—when we go out to eat at a Cantonese restaurant. While they take longer to cook than other items on the menu, there’s something irresistible about the way the waiters bring them out to the table, bubbling away and still piping hot from the residual heat of the clay pot.
These clay pot dishes involve combining all the ingredients and simmering or braising them together to create a rich tapestry of flavors and textures. The dish is served directly in the pot itself, wowing diners and allowing the dish to stay warm on the table.
While you may have had clay pot stews like Sarah’s Chicken & Soft Tofu Casserole, Bill’s Clay Pot Fish & Tofu, or my Cantonese Eggplant Casserole, or Clay Pot Rice dishes like our Chicken & Mushroom Clay Pot Rice or Hong Kong Clay Pot Rice, this one is a bit different.
It’s not a stew or a rice dish, but rather a layering of flavors and textures. I stack vegetables, glass noodles, and shrimp on top of each other in the pot and smother it in a flavorful, garlicky sauce. After cooking, the flavors from the shrimp and sauce seep down to the layers below, making an incredibly tasty and balanced dish.
Garlic, Shrimp and glass noodles go great together, and the taste is so memorable once you give it a try. The noodles soak up so much flavor, and the shrimp and garlic are sweet and pungent at the same time.
We have a simple steamed version and also a delicious variation in our cookbook. This casserole recipe is another follow up—a complete meal in and of itself, and so easy.
An Easy Dish to Make In Advance
This Chinese Garlic Shrimp Clay Pot is ideal for make-ahead scenarios. Make it up to 1 day in advance.
You can prepare it in the morning, cover it, and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook it in the evening. When you’re ready to cook, take it out of the fridge. If you have a traditional clay pot, let it come close to room temperature, as extreme temperature changes can crack the pot. Make the sauce and pour it over with some water, put the covered pot on the heat, and you’re done!
Kaitlin recently released a post about how to prepare a large multi-dish Chinese meal with just one wok, and one of the most important strategies from that article is to choose some dishes that can be prepared in advance—that don’t require a wok. This is one of those dishes!
Make it before your next party so you can actually enjoy time with your guests, or make it for Chinese New Year so you can concentrate on other dishes while this one bubbles away. Or pull it out of the fridge in the evening to enjoy a delicious restaurant-quality meal after a long day of work.
WATCH: A Simple, Delicious, Impressive and Make-ahead Chinese New Year Recipe?!
Let the Money & Happiness Roll In!
This recipe joins our blog’s growing collection of auspicious Chinese New Year recipes, from Money Bag Dumplings to Longevity Noodles.
Shrimp is a staple for Chinese New Year meals, because the word for shrimp in Cantonese, “ha” sounds like laughter. They symbolize happiness and family togetherness.
The way that the brightly orange shrimp are arranged for this dish—in a wheel pattern—embodies the Chinese phrase 红红火火, 财源滚滚 (hóng hóng huo huǒ, cáiyuán gǔngǔn). It means, “prosperity and wealth rolling in.”
For more Chinese New Year well-wishes…
Check out Bill’s list of 23 Chinese New Year Greetings and wishes, in both Mandarin and Cantonese—with audio so you can practice your pronunciation!
That’s some pretty strong symbolism for one dish. Not to mention that it’s so attractive. Don’t you agree?
I hope you enjoy this recipe at your upcoming Lunar New Year celebration!
Recipe Instructions
Start by preparing the shrimp. Use kitchen shears to trim away the legs and sharp edges around the head. Cut the shrimp open along the back, and de-vein (a toothpick can help). Rinse, shake off excess water, and set aside.
Next, prepare the sauce. Add the minced garlic and chilies (if using) to a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the oil in a pan until it shimmers, and carefully pour the hot oil evenly onto the garlic and chilies (it should sizzle). Then stir in the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, and salt.
In a medium, wide pot (preferably a clay pot), layer the ingredients in the following order: red onion, napa cabbage, enoki mushroom, and mung bean vermicelli noodles. Then arrange the shrimp on top in a circular pattern.
Making ahead?
At this point, you can cover the pot, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. When you’re ready to cook, take it out of the refrigerator. If you have a traditional clay pot, let it come close to room temperature, as extreme temperature changes can crack the pot. Then follow the steps below to pour over the water and sauce, and cook.
Pour the water evenly over the shrimp, followed by the prepared sauce mixture.
Cover the pot, and put on the stove over medium-high heat.
Cook for 12-15 minutes, or just until the shrimp turn opaque. (Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp. I had very large shrimp—10-12 shrimp per pound—so I cooked them for 15 minutes. If you assembled your clay pot ahead of time, taking it directly from refrigerator to stove, it may take a minute or two longer to cook.)
Uncover, garnish with chopped scallion, and serve immediately.
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Recipe
Chinese Garlic Shrimp Clay Pot
Ingredients
For the dish:
- 1 pound large shrimp (shell-on, with or without heads)
- ½ medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 8 ounces napa cabbage (thinly sliced; can substitute romaine lettuce)
- 7 ounces enoki mushroom – 200g (ends trimmed and separated into smaller bite-size bundles)
- 1-2 small bundles of mung bean vermicelli (soaked for 15 minutes and drained)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 scallion (finely chopped)
For the sauce:
- 1 head garlic (peeled and minced; 1 head garlic = 10-12 cloves or 50g)
- 2 red chilies (finely chopped; optional)
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil)
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Start by preparing the shrimp. Use kitchen shears to trim away the legs and sharp edges around the head. Cut the shrimp open along the back, and de-vein (a toothpick can help). Rinse, shake off excess water, and set aside.
- Next, prepare the sauce. Add the minced garlic and chilies (if using) to a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the oil in a pan until it shimmers, and carefully pour the hot oil evenly onto the garlic and chilies (it should sizzle). Then stir in the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, and salt.
- In a medium, wide pot (preferably a clay pot), layer the ingredients in the following order: red onion, napa cabbage, enoki mushroom, and mung bean vermicelli noodles. Then arrange the shrimp on top in a circular pattern. Pour the water evenly over the shrimp, followed by the prepared sauce mixture. Cover the pot.
- Put the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook for 12-15 minutes, or just until the shrimp turn opaque. (Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp. I had very large shrimp—10-12 shrimp per pound—so I cooked them for 15 minutes.)
- Uncover, garnish with chopped scallion, and serve immediately.
