kung pao shrimp

It was a pleasure seeing some of you in Chicago this weekend at the Kellogg reunion. Thanks for all the input and kind words about the blog. Certainly good inspiration for me to keep at it.

Although thoroughly exhausted from the long weekend, the first thing I did when I got home was to jump back into the kitchen. There wasn't a ton to work with in the fridge, but there was just enough to pull together a pretty delicious plate of Kung Pao Shrimp. Back when I ate Chinese food three times a week from Won's Oriental Restaurant as an undergrad, the Kung Pao Chicken was one of my go-to favorites. God only knows how many pounds (tons?) of the stuff I ate. Spicy, crunchy, salty, tangy, and slightly sweet sweet... what more could you want?!

I did a bit of research post-cooking, to read up on the history of this dish. Feel free to read the full story here, but basically it was created in the 19th century by a Qing Dynasty official in the Szechuan province. The original version of the dish is made with Szechuan peppercorns, which provide that unique mouth numbing sensation. Since the US banned the imporation of Szechuan peppercorns until 2005 (for fear that they would carry a tree disease that can wipe out entire crop of citrus trees), the version of Kung Pao that became popular in the US used different types of chilies. Not the end of the world, but it was certainly lacking that numbing sensation that only the Szechuan peppercorns can provide.

Since I didn't actually have any chicken in the fridge I went with whole shrimp I had stashed away in the freezer. Yes whole! As in not guillotined! Gasp! Using whole shrimp is a phenomenal way to add A TON of flavor into your shrimp dishes. Not only does it add a certain sea urchin-like sweetness to the dish, but it helps add flavor to the shrimp meat itself. If you have the option of cooking with whole shrimp, do yourself a favor and give it a shot. Peeling the shrimp at the dinner table makes it a bit messier to eat, but I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

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Kung Pao Shrimp (Serves 2)

Ingredients
1/2 tsp canola oil (ideally infused with szechuan peppercorns)
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup unroasted peanuts (using roasted is ok)
1/2 large onion, sliced or diced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 large bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" knob ginger, minced

1/2 lb shrimp (use any protein here)


Sauce
2 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls Shaoxing rice wine (sherry wine is a good substitute)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar is a good substitute)
1 tsp oyster sauce
2 tbls chili sauce, adjust to taste (use Szechuan peppercorns if you can!)
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbls water

Directions
If using unroasted peanuts, stir fry on high heat in the canola and sesame oil (1min), otherwise skip this step
Add in vegetables (including garlic and ginger) and stir fry on high heat (5min)
Disolve cornstarch in water
Add all ingredients into the vegetables and cook till shrimp are cooked through (3-4min)
Do not overcook the shrimp!!!!!!!
Serve with white rice