While often made with chicken, you’re sure to find the shrimp version in your favourite Szechuan restaurant. For those times when delivery or the trek downtown is out of the question, try this recipe and you’ll have your guests thinking you picked up Chinese take-out.
Kung Pao Shrimp
A take-out favourite, the Szechuan Kung Pao is more commonly a chicken dish but this westernized shrimp version is sure to satisfy your taste buds.
Servings: 4
Calories: 220kcal
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- ½ green pepper, diced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- ½ cup roasted peanuts or cashews, whole
- ¼ cup peanut oil
- 12-16 large shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled, minced
Szechuan Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp chili paste (sabal or sriracha sauce)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the green and red peppers for about 2 minutes.
- Add the nuts and continue stir frying until the peppers are tender, remove peppers and nuts from the wok and pour into a bowl with a lid to keep warm.
- If needed, add a little more oil to the wok and fry the shrimp for about 1 minute.
- Add the garlic, onions and ginger and stir fry with the shrimp for another 2 minutes.
- Remove all ingredients from the wok and transfer to the bowl with the peppers and nuts.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, stir together all of the sauce ingredients until the starch and sugar have dissolved.
- Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and cook on medium high, stirring frequently until sauce has thickened.
- Return all other ingredients to the wok to heat and coat with the sauce.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Adjust the amount of chili paste according to your preferred degree of spiciness. As it is here, the heat level is considered medium. Chopped Thai chili peppers may be substituted for the chili paste.
