Calvin Eng’s Hup To Ha (Shrimp and Walnuts)

This recipe gave me a newfound appreciation for just how much work goes into some of my favorite restaurant dishes! Hup to Ha, or shrimp and walnuts, is our go-to appetizer whenever we order Chinese food, so Calvin Eng’s version in Salt Sugar MSG was an immediate yes. Fried shrimp tossed with sweet mayo and topped with candied walnuts sounds like it could be too much, but the sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy combination works. And this version was phenomenal. The shrimp get a light cornstarch coating rather than a heavy batter, so they stayed crisp even after being tossed with the Kewpie mayo, condensed milk, and honey sauce. It was the perfect approach for a dish that can sometimes get a little soggy. But getting there required frying and candying the walnuts, replacing the oil, frying the shrimp, making the sauce, blanching the broccoli, and, because I’m a perfectionist, arranging everything on a platter. The finished dish looked restaurant-worthy but my kitchen looked like it had…