🍽️ Shrimp Cake

Beihai shrimp fritter, coastal snack.

Shrimp Cake is a classic deep-fried snack of Beihai's Old Street and the Gulf of Tonkin coast in Guangxi. A rice-flour batter wraps a whole fresh small shrimp, then goes into the wok until golden and crisp. Drained and eaten hot, the crust cracks between the teeth while the shrimp inside is sweet and lightly bouncy. Because Beihai is a fishing city, the shrimp are fresh, and the cakes are usually dipped in sweet-sour chili sauce or salt-and-pepper. They are both a walk-along street snack for Old Street visitors and a regular at family gatherings and festival tea tables. Fresh from the oil they are richly aromatic; left to cool they turn slightly chewy, so old Beihai locals insist on eating them straight from the fryer. A shrimp cake with a glass of local sweet soup is the comfortable afternoon pairing along Beihai's shore.