Hup To Ha. Credit: Alex Lau

Hup To Ha (Shrimp and Walnuts)

Name: Hup To Ha (Shrimp and Walnuts)
Prep time: 45 s
Cook time: 30 s
Total time: 105 s
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients: FOR THE WALNUTS; Water; Walnuts; Sugar; Neutral oil preferably grapeseed; Sesame seeds; Kosher salt; MSG; FOR THE SAUCE; Kewpie mayonnaise; Sweetened condensed milk; Rice vinegar; Honey; FOR THE BROCCOLI; Broccoli; Kosher salt; MSG; FOR THE SHRIMP; Neutral oil preferably grapeseed; Cornstarch; Jumbo shrimp (U16/20); TO SERVE; Oranges; White sesame seeds

23 Apr 2025

Calvin Eng

Chef

Difficulty

Medium

Total Time

1H 45MIN

Cuisine

Cantonese

Ingredients

FOR THE WALNUTS

Water: 4 cups

Walnuts: 1 cup (halved)

Sugar: 1/4 cup

Neutral oil, preferably grapeseed: for frying

Sesame seeds: 2 tsp (toasted)

Kosher salt: 1/4 tsp

MSG: 1/8 tsp

FOR THE SAUCE

Kewpie mayonnaise: 1 cup

Sweetened condensed milk: 2.5 tbsp

Rice vinegar: 2 tbsp

Honey: 1 tbsp

FOR THE BROCCOLI

Broccoli: 1 medium head (cut into florets)

Kosher salt: to taste

MSG: to taste

FOR THE SHRIMP

Neutral oil, preferably grapeseed: for frying

Cornstarch: 1/2 cup

Jumbo shrimp (U16/20): 20 (peeled and deveined)

TO SERVE

Oranges: 2 (unpeeled, thinly sliced into half-moons)

White sesame seeds: to serve (toasted)

Before our son was born, there were only two things we knew for certain. Number one, we were going to throw him a party to celebrate his first one hundred days in our arms at a Chinese banquet hall deep in Brooklyn. And number two, whatever venue we booked had to serve overflowing platters of hup to ha to all our loved ones. A Cantonese classic, hup to ha is a near-perfect dish: fried shrimp thickly coated in a sauce made from Kewpie mayonnaise sweetened with condensed milk and honey, shatteringly crispy candied walnuts dotted with toasted white sesame seeds, wheels of juicy orange, and quickly blanched broccoli. When I make this dish at home, I don’t change a thing other than seasoning the broccoli just a touch with kosher salt and MSG. The rest of parenting is up in the air, but at least we know we can throw a great banquet party for a three-month-old.

Note: This is a fussier dish because it requires a lot of oil. I swear I tried to simplify this, but for the best results, you cannot reuse the oil you fry the sugary walnuts in. So you will need to discard that oil and use fresh oil for the shrimp fry.

How to make Hup To Ha

01.

Prepare the Walnuts

In a small pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the walnuts and blanch for 1 minute.
Pour the walnuts into a colander and rinse under cold water while shaking to help remove the bitter skins.
In a small bowl, toss the walnuts with the sugar. The residual water will help the sugar stick.
Pour oil into a small pot to a depth of at least 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Working in 2–3 batches, fry the walnuts until they begin to candy and turn dark brown, about 1 minute.
Transfer to the baking sheet.
Spread walnuts in a single layer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, salt, and MSG.
Cool for 30 minutes.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

02.

Prepare the Sauce

In a large bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients until smooth.
Set aside.

03.

Prepare the Broccoli

Break broccoli into bite-size florets.
Boil until bright green, about 2 minutes.
Drain and season with salt and MSG to taste.

04.

Fry the Shrimp

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 350°F.
Dredge shrimp in cornstarch and fry in small batches until opaque and curled, about 2 minutes.
Transfer to the sauce and toss to coat.

05.

Serve

Arrange orange slices in a circle on a large plate.
Pile broccoli florets in the center, then top with shrimp and candied walnuts.
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

23 Apr 2025

The Chef

Brooklyn-born, Chinese American Eng sees his work as a chef and restaurant owner as part of a greater goal: to nurture a new wave of Cantonese cooking in the US. In his own words, Eng “grew up trying to be as American as possible,” but later embraced his Cantonese heritage and now hopes to inspire the next generation of Chinese American chefs.

His culinary career began making sandwiches behind the counter at his friend’s family deli after high school. On graduating in culinary arts in 2015, he sought out experiences that would teach him not just about cooking but about the whole business of running a restaurant. A job at fast-casual chain Dig was followed by a stint at popular Dim Sum operation Nom Wah Nolita, and then a Chef de Cuisine position at Taiwanese American restaurant Win Son. In 2021, he was ready to open his own place, the trendy and highly acclaimed Bonnie’s.

Eng was a 2022 James Beard Emerging Chef nominee and was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs for 2022. He then made the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list and was a 2023 James Beard Best Chef: New York State semifinalist and StarChefs Rising Star.

Restaurants

Eng opened Bonnie’s in 2021, at just 27 years of age, having dreamed of running his own restaurant since he was a teenager. The name is his mother’s nickname, and the whole place is a homage to her home cooking and his Cantonese American upbringing, complete with visits to his grandparents in Manhattan’s Chinatown where he would browse the street stalls and eat out in the restaurants.

A sign over the door says, “Cantonese American” and although Eng has never been professionally trained in a Chinese kitchen, he wants to make it clear that the flavors, ideas, and philosophy are all Cantonese, albeit complemented by influences from the US and elsewhere.

As soon as it opened, Bonnie’s was instantly the place to be for foodwise New Yorkers, and it has since received rave reviews in numerous publications, from Brooklyn Magazine and Grub Street to The New York Times and The New Yorker, not forgetting The Wall Street Journal and even the South China Morning Post. In 2022, it was included in best new restaurant lists in both Esquire and Bon Appetit, while Eater named Bonnie’s its Best Restaurant for the End of the World.

Recipes and dishes

Eng describes his take on Cantonese cuisine as “umami and savory-forward, low acid, low heat, and seafood-forward.” One of his most popular dishes is a delicious take on cacio e pepe, in which the nearly cooked noodles are stir-fired in a butter of garlic and fermented tofu. He is also known for playful dishes like his Char Siu McRib, and delicate mashups like his fish and shrimp wontons en brodo. The most complex and labor-intensive dish on the menu at Bonnie’s is Yeung Yu Sang Choi Bao, made by deboning a rainbow trout then stuffing it with a mousse made from the fish along with shrimps, water chestnuts, garlic, and ginger, then pan-frying and recomposing it to look like a whole fish. It's a dish Eng remembers well from his childhood in Brooklyn, as it would take his mom and aunt a full day to prepare it, but to his knowledge it is not served at any other restaurant in the US.

Shortly after Bonnie’s opened, Eng was interviewed on TV by CBS New York and New York Live. He has appeared in various videos on YouTube and Buzzfeed, and his recipes have featured in Bon Appetit, Star Chefs, Edible Brooklyn, and Munchies.

View profile