My Favorite Chinese Takeout Dish Is the Easiest One-Pot Dinner

If you ever ask me what I want to eat (which is a surprisingly tough question, according to my husband), it’s almost always Chinese food. Whether it’s a big weekend meal at our favorite restaurant or takeout for a quick dinner, it’s my absolute favorite cuisine. I would happily eat spicy mapo tofu, juicy sheng jian bao (pan-fried pork buns), and Sichuan-style dan dan noodles every day if I could.

So when I came across Kristina Cho’s recipe for shrimp with lobster sauce, I was all in. It’s one of my favorite Chinese takeout dishes, and I couldn’t wait to recreate it at home.

Get the recipe: Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

What Makes Shrimp with Lobster Sauce So Good

What makes this dish stand out is the “lobster sauce,” which actually doesn’t have any lobster in it. It gets its name after a stir-fried lobster dish with a silky sauce, served at many Chinese banquet-style restaurants in the United States. This savory, glossy sauce is made with ribbons of scrambled eggs thickened with cornstarch. Here, it’s made with more affordable shrimp instead of lobster, which makes it perfect for weeknight dinners.

The combination of sweet shrimp with this luxurious lobster sauce is incredibly delicious over freshly steamed rice (it’s a must!). The dish is flavored with garlic, fresh ginger, scallions, umami-rich oyster sauce, and a bit of toasted sesame oil. Plus the recipe itself actually comes together pretty quickly. After prepping the ingredients, it takes less than 15 minutes to cook. Any dinner that’s this easy to make is a big win in my book (and I can honestly say that it’s better than takeout!).

Get the recipe: Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

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