I loved seafood growing up in Japan, where there were so many seafood choices. Besides various kinds of fish, one of my favorite ocean ingredients is shrimp.
Today I’m sharing a quick and delicious Shrimp and Broccoli Salad recipe made with shrimp, avocado, boiled eggs, and broccoli. These four ingredients have different textures and flavors, yet when you combine them all together, the result is a really nice and creamy flavorful salad.
Shrimp and Broccoli Salad from Japanese Deli
If you’re familiar with Osozai (お惣菜) or a deli in a department store in Japan, this salad is one of the most popular salads. The recipe is quite simple, and the ingredients are likely to be in your fridge or pantry.
To replicate the flavor of the salad from deli stores, I highly recommend using Japanese mayonnaise for this recipe because Japanese mayonnaise and American mayonnaise taste a bit different. Japanese mayonnaise is a bit sweeter and has a tangy taste. If you cannot find it, please try adding rice vinegar and sugar to your regular mayonnaise (click here for more info).
As a personal preference, I like my hard-boiled eggs to be cooked a tiny bit on the soft side (but not soft-boiled eggs). The egg yolks should still show bright yellow in the center of the yolk and the texture is a bit soft. That way, when you mix it up with the rest of the ingredients, the moist egg yolks stay together instead of falling apart and give a nice bright color to the salad. If the egg yolk is fully cooked it’s likely to crumble apart.
How I Enjoy Shrimp and Broccoli Salad
I like this refreshing salad should be served slightly chilled, but you can serve it at room temperature as well. Don’t be afraid to add some salt to season the salad instead of adding more mayonnaise. Without salt, the taste can be a bit bland, and salt brings all the flavors together nicely. The most interesting part of this salad for me, as I mentioned before, is the texture. The crisp cucumber with the soft texture of chopped eggs and avocado, mixed with succulent shrimp and tasty broccoli, goes with many types of meals. I hope you enjoy this salad as much as my family does.
Shrimp and Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 6–7 pieces shrimp
- ½ Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch (to clean the shrimp)
- 1 pinch Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 6 oz broccoli florets
- 1 avocado
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 1 Japanese or Persian cucumber (I use Persian cucumber here)
For the Dressing
- 2–3 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (you can make homemade Kewpie mayo; or for each Tbsp of Kewpie mayo, you can substitute 1 Tbsp of American mayonnaise + ½ tsp rice vinegar + ⅛ tsp sugar)
- 1 tsp milk (or heavy cream)
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Devein 6–7 pieces shrimp and clean them with ½ Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch (see my tutorial on how to devein and clean shrimp). Keep the shells on so the shrimp won’t lose their flavor while cooking.
- Bring some water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add 1 Tbsp sake and 1 pinch Diamond Crystal kosher salt (to remove the shrimp‘s odor). Add the shrimp and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes or until the shrimp turns opaque.
- Monitor closely to avoid overcooking. Remove with a mesh strainer to a bowl of iced water and let cool. The ice bath will help give the shrimp a firm texture.
- Peel the shrimp shell and remove the tails. Cut the shrimp meat into bite-size pieces.
- In a small saucepan, bring some water to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and boil 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to iced water and let cool for 3 minutes to stop the cooking.
- Peel the eggshell and cut the boiled eggs into small pieces.
- Cut 6 oz broccoli florets into bite-size pieces. Bring some water to a boil in the medium saucepan and cook the broccoli for 1 minute or until tender. Watch closely to avoid overcooking.
- Transfer to ice water to stop the cooking, then drain well.
- Peel 1 Japanese or Persian cucumber in a striped pattern and cut it in half lengthwise. Then, cut crosswise into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices.
- Cut 1 avocado into cubes (see my tutorial on how to cut an avocado). Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado cubes into a large bowl.
- Put the shrimp, boiled egg, broccoli, and cucumbers into the bowl. Then, add 2–3 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and 1 tsp milk.
- Sprinkle with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss it all together. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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