* 20-minute meal. It is quick, simple to make, and ready in 20 minutes.
*Keto-friendly. This Kung Pao Shrimp recipe is keto-friendly with low carb and low calories per serving.
*Health benefits. This dish offers high protein, a great number of vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids.
What is Kung Pao Shrimp?
- Kung Pao (sometimes spelled as Kung Pow) are Chinese recipes that are stir-fried and served with a sweet and spicy sauce.
- It is originally developed from the authentic Sichuan style Kung Pao Chicken.
- The most popular Kung Pao dishes are made with either chicken or shrimp.
- Awesome Kung Pao Shrimp is filled full of flavor with large shrimp, tender bell peppers, nutty peanuts cooked together with a sweet and spicy sauce.
- This dish is a class Chinese food takeout staple – and incredibly easy to make from scratch at home.
What Does It Taste Like?
- It has a strong flavor that is sweet, spicy, savory, and with the signature tingle of heat from dry chili.
- It features a slightly spicy and sweet taste that is similar to the Chinese garlic sauce and full of earthy, garlic flavor.
The Ingredients For Kung Pao Shrimp.
Authentic Kung Pao Shrimp contains red & green bell peppers, diced onion and peanuts.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Shrimp: large or Medium-sized, peeled & deveined shrimp in this recipe, but any size will work great!
- Veggies: Red & green bell peppers and diced onion are sauteed with the shrimp until soft.
- Peanuts: Peanuts set this dish apart from other take-out favorites. Substitute with cashews if you don’t have peanuts.
How To Make Kung Pao Shrimp Sauce?
This sauce is the star of this dish! Soy sauce, sugar, chicken stock, oyster sauce, and sesame oil are whisked together to create this sweet & savory sauce. This is way better than pf chang’s kung pao shrimp.
How To Make Kung Pao Shrimp (Cooking Instructions)?
- Mix the sauce- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until fully combined and cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
- Toast the dry chiles- In a large wok or skillet over medium-high, toast the dry chiles until they deepened in color and began to release a toasty aroma, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatic- Heat up a wok and add the cooking oil until the oil is very hot. Add the garlic and do a few quick stirs until the garlic is light brown, about 30 seconds.
- Cook the vegetables- Add the green & red bell pepper for about 1 minute.
- Add the large shrimp & sauce- Add the shrimp & Kung Pao sauce to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the shrimps are pink and opaque.
- Add dried red chilies & peanuts- Add dried red chilies and the peanuts to the pan and stir fry for about 1minute.
- Add seasoning- Sprinkle in the scallions, add the sesame oil, and a pinch of white pepper. Stir everything in the pan to coat all the ingredients.
- Serve- immediately with a side of rice and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.
5 Tips To Cook Perfect Shrimp.
- Cook your shrimp hot and quickly- The most important is to heat your wok or skillet over medium-high, then stir shrimp in the skillet hot and quickly.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan- You want the shrimp to sear and not steam, cook in small batches in single layers. Overcrowding the skillet can cause the shrimp to steam rather than sear.
- Don’t overcook the shrimp- Once the shrimp turns an off-white, pinkish color, and starts to curl itself around, it is ready to get off the skillet.
- For this recipe, I would like to toss the shrimp and the sauce at the same time.
- Stir fry them until the shrimp are cooked through and the sauce has thickened and slightly absorbed into the dish. So the shrimp won’t be overcooked.
TIPS To Peel And Devein Shrimp.
- When peeling your raw shrimp, pull the shell and tear it away from the first segment of the shell.
- Make a shallow cut along the spine of the shrimp or the back of the shrimp.
- Take the back strip of the intestines and remove them with a knife or fork.
- Remove tails by simply squeezing the shrimp and pulling the tail off.
The Difference Between Szechuan Shrimp VS Kung Pao Shrimp?
- The main difference between Kung Pao and Szechuan is that Kung Pao is a dish whereas Szechuan is a cuisine style.
- Kung Pao is being stir-fried or sometimes deep-fried and served in a sweet and spicy flavor and starchy texture usually with peanuts.
- Szechuan has a bold and stronger flavor of spicy with a mouth-numbing sensation.
Is Kung Pao Shrimp Healthy?
- It’s one of the healthiest dishes you’ll find on a Chinese restaurant menu.
- Kung Pao Shrimp is low calorie. It’s packed with lean protein and veggies and uses a relatively small amount of oil because it’s stir-fried and not deep-fried.
- There isn’t too much sugar or carbs in the dish.
It Is Gluten-Free.
- It’s almost always gluten-free since it uses corn starch as a thickener.
- You can use the oyster sauce to replace soy sauce. You will also want to double-check that your oyster sauce is gluten-free.
- The rest of the shrimp stir fry ingredients are gluten-free.
It Is Keto.
- It’s a favorite among Keto dieters, it provides a well-balanced meal with low calories ingredients.
- The shrimps and other mixed veggies, the sauce is nice and light, containing less sugar, oil, and fat than sauces in other Chinese dishes.
- This keto recipe is a perfectly easy way to get your fix!
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chicken stock or water
Stir Fry:
- 4~6 dried chile de arbol peppers or other dried chiles
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup (120 g) whole roasted unsalted peanuts
Seasoning:
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 dashes white pepper
Instructions
- Mix the sauce- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until fully combined and cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
- Toast the dry chiles- In a large wok or skillet over medium-high, toast the dry chiles until they have deepened in color and have begun to release a toasty aroma, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatic- Heat up a wok and add the cooking oil until the oil is very hot. Add the garlic and do a few quick stirs until the garlic is light brown, about 30 seconds.
- Cook the vegetables- Add the green & red bell pepper for about 1 minute.
- Add the large shrimp & sauce- Add the shrimp & Kung Pao sauce to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and opaque.
- Add dried red chilies & peanuts- Add dried red chilies and the peanuts to the pan and stir fry for about 1minute.
- Add seasoning- Sprinkle in the scallions, add the sesame oil, and a pinch of white pepper. Stir everything in the pan to coat all the ingredients.
- Serve- immediately with a side of rice and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.
Paul Marceau says
I have made this dish on my own not knowing how
..let’s just say..I really like your recipe and know how…thank you
Anna Lee says
Thank you, you like it~
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