Kung Pao Shrimp Recipe
It’s takeout fakeout time! I love creating my own Asian dishes at home from Beef and Broccoli, Sweet and Sour Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken and more. But out of all of these takout fakeout versions, this Kung Pao Shrimp is by far the fastest and easiest – are you in love already?! This homemade Kung Pao Shrimp recipe is SO easy to make from scratch and seriously takes less time to stir fry than driving to pick it up – and it tastes 1000X better!
What is Kung Pao shrimp?
Kung Pao originated with chicken in the Sichuan province in southwestern China. It is popular today at American-Chinese restaurants. Kung Pao Shrimp is a shrimp stir fry distinguished by its sweet and savory, spicy garlic sauce and crunchy peanuts. Kung Pao Shrimp is traditionally served with rice but you can serve it with chow mein, zoodles, cauliflower rice, etc..
What does kung po sauce taste like?
The base of Kung Pao Sauce is made with soy sauce, Japanese rice wine, rice vinegar and sugar. It’s infused by aromatic garlic, ginger and onions and made spicy by either red peppers, red chili paste or red pepper flakes. The resulting Kung Pao Sauce is earthy, sweet, savory and spicy. If you like it spicier, you can add more chili garlic sauce to make it YOUR perfect Kung Pao Sauce.
What is in Kung Pao Sauce?
I’ve come up with a dynamite, fiery Kung Pao Sauce that you should already have all the ingredients for if you make Asian food (or my Asian/Island recipes) somewhat often. If not, all the ingredients can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store, namely hoisin sauce and sweet rice wine. So now, all you need is some Costco freezer shrimp and you can make this Kung Pao Shrimp any time you get a succulent, spicy shrimp craving!
Is Kung Po sauce hot?
Kung Pao Shrimp is known for its bold flavors, in particularly the use of garlic, chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. In this Kung Pao Shrimp recipe, I’ve omitted the Sichuan peppercorns for pantry friendly Asian red chili paste. I prefer using chili paste as opposed to dried chiles because I find the heat is more consistent in measuring and also the heat distributes more evenly throughout the dish instead of pockets of heat from a seed here or there. It is also easier to customize the spice level of your Kung Pao Shrimp by adding more chili sauce to taste at the end of cooking. Individuals can also customize the heat of their own servings. This Kung Pao Shrimp Recipe with 2 tablespoons chili pastes is medium spicy AKA it has a little kick but not so much that you have to sip water after every bite. If you aren’t sure how much chili paste to use, start with less because you can always add more later – but you can’t take it away! I personally like 2 ½ tablespoons and Patrick adds more to his own serving- but we like heat.
Is Kung Pao Shrimp Healthy?
YES, Kung Pao Shrimp is healthy! Unlike many Chinese dishes that are deep fried, the shrimp is stir fried in only one tablespoon oil. There is only one tablespoon sugar in the sauce. The only other carbs in Kung Pao Shrimp comes from whatever you serve it with. If you want to limit the carbs, then instead of rice or healthier brown rice, you can serve your Kung Pao shrimp with cauliflower rice or zoodles.
What goes with Kung Pao Shrimp?
I’ve kept this Kung Pao Shrimp simple with the addition of bell peppers and onions but you can also add or swap in:
celery water chestnuts bok choy broccoli mushrooms carrots cabbage snap peas zucchini asparagus
To make it a full Chinese buffet, serve your Kung Pao Shrimp with Asian Salad, Potstickers, Chinese Chicken Egg Rolls and/or Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
What shrimp Should I use for Kung Pao Shrimp?
For this Kung Pao Shrimp recipe, and all my shrimp recipes, I like to use shrimp that is already peeled and deveined. By purchase shrimp that is already peeled and deviened, then preparing shrimp recipes can come together in minutes. I like to purchase frozen shrimp at Costco for budget friendly convenience every time. Alternatively, you can use fresh shrimp or peel and devein your own shrimp.
HOW TO DEFROST SHRIMP
If you are using frozen shrimp, then you will need to thaw it first. There are two options for defrosting your shrimp: Whatever you do, resist the urge to defrost your shrimp using warm tap water (and definitely NOT the microwave) as this will cause the shrimp to defrost and cook unevenly.
HOW TO MAKE KUNG PAO SHRIMP
Step 1: Make Kung Pao Shrimp Sauce
To make this easy Kung Pao Shrimp, first whisk together the marinade that also doubles as the sauce – my favorite method to eliminate work. The marinade/sauce consists of soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, hoisin, red chili paste and a touch of brown sugar. You add some of this sauce to your shrimp for it to soak up the savory heat and reserve the rest.
Step 2 – Marinate Shrimp
Let shrimp marinate at room temperature while you prep your veggies, for 10 minutes up to 30 minutes. You don’t want to marinate shrimp for longer than 30 minutes because it can get mealy.
Step 3: Prep Stir Fry
While your shrimp is marinating, you prep your ginger, garlic, onion, bell peppers and dry roast your already dry roasted peanuts simply by tossing in a heated skillet for an extra roasted crunch. You want all of your stir fry ingredients prepared before heating up the wok because you will be adding them to the stir fry in rapid succession AND because shrimp cooks very quickly. Once you start cooking, the Kung Pao Shrimp is done cooking in less than 5 minutes.
Step 4: Stir Fry
Saute onions, then add bell peppers, garlic and ginger and continue to stir fry a few more minutes. Add shrimp and cook just until opaque, about 3 minutes, being careful not to overcook. Add your reserved sauce to the skillet and simmer just until it thickens, approximately 1-2 minutes then pile high with roasted peanuts for your very own homemade Kung Pao Shrimp in under 30 minutes! Happy takeout fakeout!
Looking for more shrimp recipes?
Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp and Asparagus Sheet Pan Shrimp Scampi Sheet Pan Teriyaki Shrimp, Pineapple and Snap Peas Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Shrimp Pasta Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls Honey Lemon Shrimp with Chili Butter Sauce Coconut Honey Lime Shrimp with Sriracha Mango Dip Lemon Garlic Shrimp Fettuccine
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