The fundamentals of Chinese cooking focus heavily on the natural sweetness and umami of the ingredient. And when it comes to shrimp and seafood, we always prefer to cook with the shell and head on.
Somehow, the shrimp tastes so much better when it’s cooked as a whole. And depending on the size of the shrimp and thickness of the shell, I’ll eat that too! For this recipe, I recommend using larger shrimp, specifically 16/20 or larger. The 16/20 number is a size count that denotes sixteen to twenty shrimps make up 1 pound (455 g). Therefore, 8/10 or 12/14 shrimp are even larger.
And, when it comes to seasoning, we are keeping it simple with salt and pepper and classic aromatics like green onions and ginger to elevate the natural sweetness.
Serves 6 to 8
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds (910 g) fresh 16/20 or larger shrimp, such as tiger shrimp, head on, unpeeled, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon (8 g) fresh ginger, grated
¼ cup (60 ml) Scallion Oil (page 50)
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Apple wood chips (optional)
METHOD
1 Preheat your favorite smoker to 225°F (107°C) and add your preferred wood chips if desired. I recommend something fruity like apple.
2 Defrost the shrimp if frozen. To clean the shrimp, locate the back side and use a toothpick to dig in between the second and
third section of the shell from the tail. Pull out the vein and discard. Repeat.
3 Season the shrimp with salt and black pepper. Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 120°F (49°C).
4 In a small bowl, add the grated ginger in the Scallion Oil.
5 Remove from the smoker and season with the white pepper and Scallion Oil mixture.
6 Serve and consume immediately.
Excerpted from Chinese-American Barbecue: Big Flavor Asian BBQ from the Smoke Queen, published by Harvard Common Press, an imprint of the Quarto Group (2026).
This original article first appeared in the FALL 2026 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
