Sohla El-Waylly's Snappy Shrimp with Punch-You-in-the-Face Cocktail Sauce
Discover the long lost art of making shrimp cocktail from scratch, including the sauce.
My shrimp cocktail-making journey started just last spring. It was jump-started by my dear friend Sara, whom I was visiting at her home in Brooklyn. We love to cook together and always host at least one dinner party while I’m staying at her apartment.
It had been a long five years since my last visit (thanks COVID, thanks babies), and she blew my mind when she revealed she would be making shrimp cocktail from scratch for our long awaited reunion at the dinner (party) table.
I don’t know why, but the thought of making my own shrimp cocktail from scratch had never really entered the chat of my food and recipe-obsessed mind. It had always been reserved as a special thing I would order at a restaurant, or only buy in cute little pre-prepped packs at the St. Lawrence Market.
The result of her efforts was outstanding. I had never tasted a shrimp so good! Considering I have known Sara for a long time, and have cooked many meals with her over the years, I had to know more about how and why she had been keeping this epic endeavour a secret from me for so long. “I got really, really good at making shrimp cocktail during the lockdown” she responded.
Naturally, I returned home to Toronto and set myself on a mission to also become really, really good at shrimp cocktail.
Wasting no time, I scoured my cookbooks for the best recipes. I tried a bunch, until I landed on this one from Sohla El-Waylly’s cookbook Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook.
There’s really no other comparison after trying this recipe. Her use of sake in the poaching liquid creates the most fragrant aroma that is simply unparalleled in my opinion. I literally steam my face over the pot while it’s boiling because it makes me feel like I’m in some kind of magical sake spa where the happy ending involves eating a delicious shrimp cocktail.
Now, don’t even get me started on her Punch-You-in-the-Face cocktail sauce. Yes, I know cocktail sauce from a jar is easy and already pretty damn good—and I agree!—but you ain’t tasted just how good a cocktail sauce can be until you have tasted this one. Bonus, the extra effort involves little more than opening a few more jars.
Hot Tip: save and freeze your poaching liquid to make this even faster the next time!
Scroll down for the recipe from her great book and let me know if you try it. 😋
Snappy Shrimp with Punch-You-in-the-Face Cocktail Sauce from Start Here
→ Like pretty much all proteins, shrimp benefit from dry-brining. Rather than making them tender, tossing shrimp in a mixture of salt and baking soda keeps them snappy and offers a buffer against overcooking. All it takes is 15 minutes to vastly improve their texture. To amp up their flavor, here the shrimp are poached in a broth made from the shells simmered with aromatics and sake. If it's warm in your kitchen, keep your shrimp in a bowl set over an ice bath while you're cleaning them. Shrimp go bad super fast.
Serves 4
Active: 1 hr. Total: 1.5 hrs.
Intermediate
Ingredients:
1 pound (450 grams) U16 to U20
shell-on shrimp (see U What?, page 220)
3 tablespoons Diamond Crystal
kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
5 cups water
1 cup dry sake or any white wine
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 celery stalks, halved
1 medium yellow or white onion, quartered
½ bunch parsley
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons), spent lemons reserved
Punch-You-in-the-Face Cocktail Sauce
Special Equipment:
kitchen shears
sheet pan fitted with a wire rack
spider (or sieve)
1. Clean the shrimp: Working with one shrimp at a time, use sharp kitchen shears to snip open the back. Use your hands to pull off the shell while keeping the tail attached. (Set the shells aside.) Pull out and discard the dark vein, then rinse under cold water to remove any grit.
2. Dry-brine the shrimp: In a medium bowl, combine the salt and baking soda. Add the cleaned shrimp and toss to evenly coat. Place a wire rack in a sheet pan and arrange the shrimp in one layer. Let the shrimp dry-brine in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 15 and up to 45 minutes. Rinse the shrimp with cold water and arrange on the rack once again. Place in the fridge until ready to cook. (If storing for more than 1 hour, tightly wrap the pan. Once wrapped, the shrimp will keep in the fridge for 24 hours.)
3. Make the poaching liquid: In a large pot, combine the reserved Shrimp shells, water, sake, garlic, celery, onion, parsley, lemon juice, and spent lemons. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce to a bare simmer. Cover and cook until flavorful, about 30 minutes. Using a spider, scoop out all the solids from the stock, pressing gently to squeeze the liquid from the shells, and discard. (Or pass through a sieve, reserving the stock and discarding the solids. Return to the large pot.)
4. Poach the shrimp: Fill a medium bowl with ice and add water to cover to make an ice bath. Season with a large pinch of salt.
5. Set the pot of poaching liquid over medium heat and heat until steamy but not bubbling (around 190°F/88°C). Add the shrimp all at once and stir to distribute the heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are opaque and slightly curled, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and lift the shrimp out of the liquid with a spider (or pour through a sieve) and transfer to the ice bath to halt the cooking. Once the shrimp are cooled, 5 to 8 minutes, lay them out on a sheet pan and place in the fridge to fully chill. (If storing for more than 1 hour, tightly wrap. They will keep in the fridge for 3 days.)
7. Serve chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce.
Punch-You-in-the-Face Cocktail Sauce
→ A splash of whiskey or brandy gives this cocktail sauce extra bite. Besides dunking your poached shrimp in here, add a dollop to chilled oysters, spread on a roast beef sandwich, or serve alongside steak.
Active: 15 mins. Total: 15 mins.
Makes about 1 cup
Easy | Gluten-free
Ingredients:
¼ cup prepared horseradish
½ cup ketchup
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon), plus more to taste
2 tablespoons whiskey or brandy
2 or 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 or 3 dashes Tabasco sauce
Dash of fish sauce
Kosher salt
Place the horseradish in a fine-mesh sieve and press with the back of a spoon to squeeze out any excess liquid. In a medium bowl, mix together the drained horseradish, ketchup, garlic, lemon juice, whiskey, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and fish sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust with lemon and salt if needed. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
U What?
Shrimp are sized by how many you get in a pound. For example, U8 shrimp are big boys, with just 8 per pound, while U60 means they're teeny-weeny, with a whooping 60 per pound. For shrimp cocktail, I like U16 to U20 shrimp.
At about an ounce per shrimp, they're just the right size for grabbing by the tail and dunking into sauce.