Shanghai Sauteed Shrimp (上海油爆蝦)

This is a traditional Shanghai dish, using shrimps with shells (of course, deveined).  It's very simple to prepare, yet, delicious and delightful for all occasions.  

Ingredients

1. 1 lb mid-sized (31-40 per pound) shrimps with shells (deveined and uncooked, widely available in all regular markets, in frozen form, in 2-pound bags)
2. Green onions, 1 stalk chopped into 1/2"-1" segments, and 1 stalk minced.
3. Ginger 3-4 slices (no need to mince).
4. Vegetable oil, 4 Tbsp (i.e., 1/4 cup) for initial saute'ing.
5. Seasonings (marinating): rice cooking wine, 2-3 Tbsp; Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp.
6. Seasonings (cooking): soy sauce, 2-3 Tbsp; sugar, 2-3 tsp; ShanoXing Wine (or, regular Rice Cooking wine), 3-4 Tbsp.

Methods

1. Marinate the shrimps for 30-60 minutes (Ingredients 1 & 4). Note- defrost the shrimps, and drain fluid beforehand. Quick Defrosting- Immerse the frozen shrimps in room temperature water for 30 minutes, change water, wait another 30 minutes.
2. Add 4 Tbsp of vegetable oil (i.e., 1/4 cup) into a flat bottom cooking pan, turn on high heat for 1-2 minutes.
3. [High Heat] Drain fluid again from the marinated shrimps. Add the shrimps into the cooking pot, and stir quickly with a spatula for 10-15 seconds, add 3-4 Tbsp of ShaoXing Wine (or regular cooking wine), stir for 5 seconds, and cover the lid for 30--60 seconds.
4. [Medium-High-Heat] Turn the heat down a bit, spread the shrimps to the side of the pot to create a center opening, then place the green onion segments and ginger slices to the center, add  soy sauce (2-3 Tbsp), and sugar, 2-3 tsp, to the center. Stir the center content for 10-15 seconds, and then, mix in all the shrimps from the side. 
5. [High Heat] Turn up the heat, and stir the shrimps for a minute or two, till the shrimps are red, and shiny..
6. Turn off heat, sprinkled minced green onions on top, and serve. The results from our kitchen is at the top of this post.

Big Chicken Cutlet (大雞排)

This relatively big piece of chicken cutlet (大雞排) is popular in Taiwan's night markets. We learned and tried our hands on making it in our kitchen. The method seems relatively straightforward, and the results quite satisfactory.  

Ingredients

1. Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2. General purpose flour
3. 2 eggs, whisk into egg fluid, use half first
4. Bread crumbs (we used the type with Italian Seasonings from the markets)
5. Vegetable Oil, 4 Tablespoons, i.e., 1/4 cup, to start, and add as needed, when the chicken cutlet has absorbed all the oil during the pan-frying
6. Seasonings (marinade): soy sauce, sugar, 5-spices, green onions, ginger. 

Methods

1. Butterfly-cut each chicken breast (no need to pound/hammer the meat); Note- Start with the method described in this bbc post, by cutting a 1/4" thin-slice from the right to the left (take care NOT to cut through). Open the newly sliced chicken to the left, and flip the now sliced-opened chicken breast, by lifting the left side up first and flipping to the right. Now the thin slice should be on your right side, and the thick side is on your left side. Now cut a 1/4" thin slice from the center, where the chicken breast starts to turn thick after the first cut, and move the knife to the left (take care NOT to cut through). Flip the newly cut slice to the left again, and, now the chicken breast is in the shape of a butterfly, with two 1/4"-thick wings open from the center. 
2. Marinate the chicken breast for ~30 minutes, with soy sauce, sugar, 5-spices, 1 stalk of green onions (cut into 1/2 to 1-inch segments), and ginger slices. 
3. Setup 3 flat plates- first plate with flour, second plate with egg fluid (1-egg's fluid first), 3rd plate with bread crumbs.
4. [Prepare to Pan-fry the Chicken Cutlet] Add 4-table spoons of vegetable oil, turn on medium heat.
5. Gently take out the now marinated chicken cutlet, dip both sides of the piece horizontally on the plate with flour, then, both sides on the plate with egg fluid, then, both sides on the plate with bread crumbs.
6. Lastly, place it flatly into the frying pan. Pan-fry until both sides are golden brown. See the very tasty results from our kitchen at the top of this post (Note- the plate is 8.5" in diameter).