I stayed indoors this weekend to keep away from the 24 hour torrential downpour we received from Hurricane Andrea. Before the storm hit, I visited the grocery store with a long list of ingredients and big plans to cook as many as 6 dishes in a day – these ginger shrimp balls were part of a trio of Asian ‘tapas’ I had planned to serve.
For those of you who wonder if food bloggers shoot dishes daily, the answer is no. In order to be able to update regularly, most bloggers like myself will cook and shoot a few dishes in a day. This way you have an image library ready to be used, all that’s left is to choose the best pictures, clean them up (Photoshop is essential – I also have a Wacom pad I couldn’t live without), write the recipe and a few anecdotes.
Don’t get me wrong – these steps still take a long time to accomplish, this is a full time job for me! But this way I can focus on one thing at a time and the whole experience is much more organized and enjoyable.
But enough about food blogging, let’s talk about these super delicious ginger shrimp balls with a fiery soy chili dipping sauce. These babies are so easy to make and look like dim sum restaurant quality bites! They not only taste like but have the tender texture of shrimp dumplings too!
The idea for the dipping soy came from gyoza tare (gyoza dipping sauce), vinegar, soy and sesame always go so well together. My hubby and I love spicy food so adding hot chilies to the sauce only made sense.
These ginger shrimp balls will keep in the fridge for up to two days, make sure they are properly sealed in a tupperware container to retain their moistness. Serve them at your next dinner party or bring them to a summer barbecue. They’ll be a hit, I guarantee it!
Ginger Shrimp Balls with Soy Chili Dipping Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 shrimp balls 1x
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Healthy,oven baked ginger shrimp balls served with a spicy chili sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons water chestnuts, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoon panko breadcrumbs or regular breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Thai chilies or jalapenos, finely chopped
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl add the shrimp, breadcrumbs, water chestnuts, ginger, soy, sriracha sauce and mix well with a spoon
- In a large skillet with a lid, over medium heat, add the vegetable oil. Swirl the oil to even coat the surface.
- Using the spoon, scoop a heaped spoonful (about 1 1/2 tablespoon) of the shrimp mixture and shape into a ball.
- Gently add the shrimp balls to the skillet, careful not to break them and cover with the lid. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until they are fully cooked.
- Serve with the dipping sauce
Notes
Save the leftover shrimp balls in a container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 shrimp ball
- Calories: 45
- Sugar: 0g
- Sodium: 45.5mg
- Fat: 1.3g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 0.3g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 7.6g
- Cholesterol: 60.8mg
These look so good. Can you freeze them before baking, and then steam cook whenever?
Excellent recipe. Didn’t use as much chilli but still delicious. Will definitely make again
Hi! Do you have a gluten-free substitute for panko in this recipe? Thank you 🙂
Hi Emile, there are a some gluten-free panko products available such as Kikkoman and Ians. If you cannot find any at your local grocery store, try a natural store or Amazon 🙂 I hope this helps!
What is the substitute for water chestnuts ?
Hi Dipti! You can just take them out and it will be delicious 🙂
Made this for our Asian Fest dinner party and they were a hit! I did 2 additional things though: 1) added chopped cilantro for a little pop of color and 2) rolled them in panko before baking for a contrasting texture. Excellent!
Patrick, I love the panko idea!
Will shrimp balls keep in the fridge for up to two days…after cooking or before cooking? Thank you!
Hi Gale, they will keep in the fridge cooked 🙂
Hi Sofia, I also use ginger more often in the winter! I’ll brew batches of ginger water and drink it on a regular basis to fight colds. Plus, I love the taste 🙂
wow, this looks great – just bought a bamboo steamer, and I can’t wait to try it out with this recipe!
Instead of cooking them in the oven, Could one also steam them??
Yes, you can steam the dumplings as well for about 7 minutes.
Better than dim sum at Jing Fong! I couldn’t get enough. I really like the texture as well. The shrimp was tender while the ginger and water chestnuts added such a great crunch.