Hot 'n' Sour Shrimp

Here's an easy weeknight stir-fry shrimp recipe that we got from America's Test Kitchen (the website may require you to register, but this recipe is available for free). 

 

First step is to marinate the shrimp in garlic and ginger with a little salt and oil.  It takes about 30 minutes, but you can do all of the other prep work while you wait. 

As mentioned in previous posts, we recommend buying frozen, raw, shell-on, deveined shrimp.  They have the shell on, which is good for some recipes, but its already been split down the middle to remove the vein.  This makes shelling super easy.  Defrosting shrimp takes almost no time, which makes it perfect for mid-week dishes.

Also, more and more, fresh ginger is becoming one of those ingredients we try to always have on hand.  Just a little piece... so cheap, and yet so many recipes call for a bit.

Next step is to make the sauce.  Mmmm....delicious sauce.  Amazingly, we had all of these ingredients already in the pantry:  soy sauce, white vinegar, sugar, ketchup, sesame oil, sriacha, sherry, and a little cornstarch.  Good sesame oil really comes through in Chinese recipes.

Slice your veggies...

Saute your veggies...

Remove the veggies and add the shrimp with some shallot and garlic.  The key here is to lower the heat to medium low so that the shrimp don't cook too fast or they become rubbery.

Add the sauce and let it thicken.

Add the veggies back in and mix it all together.  Note the delightful colors!

 Serve over a bed of rice.  Better than take out, and twice the fun!