This sweet and spicy kung pao shrimp recipe is a quick and easy meal you can whip up any day of the week. Made with ingredients like chili garlic sauce and cashews, you’ll love the bold flavors and varied texture in this recipe.
Kung pao sauce, a mostly spicy yet slightly sweet sauce, is most famously used on chicken in Chinese take-out restaurants. The truth is, however, that this Chinese sauce can be used on almost anything, including vegetarian options like cubed eggplant or tofu.
In this shrimp recipe, the kung pao sauce is whisked up in a bowl and combined with fresh shrimp, bell peppers, cashews, and some other ingredients in a large wok.
The resulting kung pao shrimp is hot from the use of chili garlic sauce and dried chili peppers, and is a nice contrast to the sweet bell peppers in the recipe.
Traditionally, a kung pao shrimp recipe like this is served with steamed, sticky rice, but you could also serve this with a side of veggies or noodles for an equally delicious alternative. If you wanted to make this recipe ahead of time, it’s best to prepare all your ingredients and the stir-fry sauce ahead of time, but wait to actually cook the shrimp and ingredients until you’re ready to serve it.
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Cook time: 10 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Idle time:
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Ingredients
- For the Sauce:
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- For the Stir-Fry:
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1/4 cup small dried chilies such as chiles de árbol
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper cut into about 1/3-inch-wide strips
- 1/2 green bell pepper cut into about 1/3-inch-wide strips
- 1 lb. large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- Steamed Brown Rice
Instructions
- Whisk the oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl to blend and set aside.
- Heat a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil. When the first wisp of white smoke comes off of the wok, add the chilies and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
- Add the onion and bell peppers and stir-fry until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until they begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce and half of the cashews and stir-fry until the shrimp are just pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Try not to overcook the shrimp, as they can get tough and chewy. Sprinkle with the white pepper.
- Transfer the stir-fry to a platter. Sprinkle with the green onions and remaining cashews and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Additional information
Updated by Beeta Hashempour on 6/29/2018
