Buffet-Style Honey Walnut Shrimp at Home: An Easy Recipe

Honey walnut shrimp is one of the dishes people go back for at Chinese buffets, including the hot line at Milpitas Buffet. It is also easy to make at home, and your version can beat a buffet tray on one thing: crunch.

This recipe serves 3 to 4 as part of a meal and takes about 35 minutes. The sauce is the classic mayonnaise, honey and condensed milk mix, and the walnuts are candied in a few minutes on the stove.

Ingredients

Large shrimp work best. Small ones overcook before the coating gets crisp. Kewpie-style Japanese mayonnaise gives a slightly richer sauce, but regular mayonnaise is fine.

Step 1: Candy the walnuts

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small pan. Add the walnuts and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the syrup thickens and coats them.

Spread them on parchment paper and let them cool and harden. You can do this a day ahead and keep them in an airtight jar.

Step 2: Mix the sauce

Whisk the mayonnaise, honey, condensed milk and lemon juice in a large bowl. Taste it. It should be sweet with a little tang.

Leave the bowl at room temperature. A cold sauce cools the shrimp too fast, and you want them warm when they reach the table.

Step 3: Coat and fry the shrimp

• Pat the shrimp very dry with paper towels. Wet shrimp make a gummy coating.
• Toss them with the egg white and salt, then dredge in cornstarch and shake off the extra.
• Heat the oil to 350°F in a wok or heavy pot.
• Fry in two or three batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until the coating is pale gold.
• Drain on a rack, not on paper towels, so the bottoms stay crisp.

FoodSafety.gov says shrimp are done when the flesh is pearly or white and opaque. Cut one open from the first batch to check.

Step 4: Toss and serve

Add the hot shrimp to the sauce and fold gently until coated. Plate them, scatter the candied walnuts on top, and serve right away.

For a plate like the buffet's, serve it with steamed rice and something green and plain, like garlic green beans or steamed broccoli. They balance how rich the sauce is.

Swaps and variations

Why the buffet version tastes different

On a buffet line, the shrimp are battered, sauced and held in a tray, so the coating softens over time. The best buffet plate comes from a tray that has just been set down.

Our honey walnut prawns and roast duck guide explains when the Milpitas Buffet tray is freshest, and the hot line guide covers the rest of what is served next to it.

Storing leftovers

Honey walnut shrimp is best eaten fresh. Leftovers go in the fridge within two hours and keep for a day or two, but the coating will soften.

Reheat in a 375°F oven or air fryer for a few minutes rather than the microwave. USDA guidance says leftovers should reach 165°F when reheated. Store any extra walnuts separately so they stay crunchy.

Allergy note

This dish contains shellfish, tree nuts and egg, three of the nine major food allergens recognized by the FDA. Condensed milk adds dairy. Cook it with those guests in mind.