I’m a huge fan of shrimp and shrimp with a kick is even better. When cooking shrimp stir fries in the past, I just added soy or teriyaki sauce to the wok or pan. I had no idea that soy and toasted sesame oil are to be used like salt as a finishing element. I never really ventured into Asian sauce land and now I have a few recipes that will be easy to use with multiple dishes. Kung Pao Chicken tops the list for my next attempt.
The Sauce:
3/4 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
2 Teaspoons Rice Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil
1.5 Teaspoons Cornstarch
Directions:
Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Stir-Fry Ingredients:
1 Pound Extra Large Shrimp – peeled and deveined
2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce
2 Teaspoons Chinese Rice Wine
3 Garlic Cloves – minced
1 Teaspoon Ginger – grated fresh
2 Scallions – minced
2 Tablespoons plus 1 Teaspoon Canola Oil
6 Small Whole Dried Red Chiles – each about 2 inches long
1/2 Cup Roasted Unsalted Peanuts
1 Red Bell Pepper – stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Teaspoon Sichuan Peppercorns – crushed – adds another level of heat, has a fruity aroma w/a punch
Directions:
Toss the shrimp with the soy sauce and rice wine in a small bowl and let marinate up to an hour. In a separate bowl, mix together the garlic, ginger, scallions, and 1 teaspoon of canola oil and set aside. In a third bowl, crumble half of the chiles coarsely, then toss with the remaining whole chiles and peanuts; set aside.
Heat 1.5 teaspoons of the remaining oil in your wok or skillet pan over high heat until just smoking. Add only HALF of your shrimp and cook, without stirring, until the shrimp are browned at the edges, about 1 minute. Stir in the chiles and peanuts and cook until the shrimp are almost completely opaque and the peanuts have darkened slightly. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and repeat with 1.5 teaspoons more oil and the remaining shrimp. Transfer to the original shrimp bowl and set aside. (Lots of dishes to do after cooking this) The reason you cook the shrimp in 2 batches is because if they are all crammed in at once, too much moisture comes out of the shrimp and they steam, rather than brown.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and return to high heat until smoking. Add the bell pepper and Sichuan peppercorns and cook until the bell pepper is slightly softened and the peppercorns are fragrant – about 1 minute. Clear the center of the wok/pan, add the garlic mixture and cook – mashing the mixture into the pan. Cook for about 20-30 seconds and then add your shrimp back into the pan. Whisk the sauce to recombine, then add it to the pan and toss until the sauce thickens – takes about a minute.
The dish had great flavor. I honestly might double the sauce or at least make 1.5 x’s the amount. I really like my food with a lot of sauce… especially when served over sticky rice. I feel like you could easily adjust the level of heat by leaving out the peppers or peppercorns. You could then have shrimp without the “Pao” – or if you aren’t a shrimp fan or have allergies, chicken with or without the extra kick. You make the call. The steps seem pretty involved, but the prep went by very quickly. Stir-fry cooking times are minimal and if you prepped ahead of time, this could be an easy mid-week dinner for sure.
I once again was the girl in cooking class snapping photos right and left as the tasting plates and dishes came around. I’m getting more and more comfortable talking about the blog with complete strangers and that’s been a fun thing.
