Kung Pao shrimp is a luxurious version of Kung Pao Chicken! This dish adopts the classic Kung Pao flavor from Sichuan and it will 100% impress your guest! It became a popular dish in the 90’s of Chengdu because before that, Chengdu didn’t have any seafood! It is considered a very luxurious and elevated dish for people to eat! It is very easy to make and you’ll absolutely love the flavor!
Check out the Kung Pao Chicken Recipe Here
Here is another Sichuan seafood dish you might like: Suan Cai Yu Recipe – Sichuan Fish Soup with Pickled Mustard Greens
What is Kung Pao Shrimp made of?
Kung Pao Shrimp is made of shrimp, cashew nuts, and celery. Of course you can use other veggies such as red pepper. It also uses Sichuan spices including dry chili and Sichuan peppercorn. The aromatics used include garlic, ginger and scallion.
What is the Kung Pao Flavor?
Kung Pao flavor originated in Sichuan cuisine. It is a perfect mixture of sugar, chinkiang vinegar, shaoxing wine and soy sauce. The flavor is mainly sweet and sour. Starch is added to thicken the sauce.
Is Kung Pao Hot?
The short answer is yes. It is mildly hot due to the dry chilies used in the dish. However the spicy level can vary because of the variety of the chilies.
Is Kung Pao Shrimp healthy?
Yes! Compared to Kung Pao Chicken, Kung Pao Shrimp would be a healthier option as shrimp has low calories.
Preparing the Shrimp
To make Kung Pao Shrimp, cut the defrosted shrimp lengthwise on the thickest part of the shrimp. This step helps the marinate coat the shrimp better, resulting in a tender texture just like in the restaurant.
Poaching the Shrimp and Celery
To achieve the extreme tender “Kou Gan” (mouth feel), poaching the shrimp and celery in hot oil is necessary. Use one cup of cooking oil to poach shrimp for roughly 2 minutes and add celery for 30 seconds. Remove the ingredients immediately with a strainer when they are half cooked.
Kung Pao Sauce
Although the Kung Pao sauce has a sweet and sour taste in general, the proportion of the ingredients need to be right to achieve the classic “lychee” flavor. Follow the proportion closely when making your Kung Pao sauce will guarantee a successful dish. Make sure to stir the sauce before adding to the pan.
Watch the video on how to make Kung Pao Shrimp:
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prepare the shrimp. Have about 1/2 lb of raw peeled shrimp defrosted. I would choose bigger shrimp as well. Make a cut lengthwise on the back of the shrimp.
- Marinate the shrimp with a quarter tsp salt, 1 tsp shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp egg white and 2 tbsp potato starch. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Store in fridge for 20 minutes.
- Cut dry chilies into 1 inch pieces. Shake out the seeds. Cut scallion white into 1/2 inch slices. Slice garlic and ginger.
- Slice one celery stick at an angle into a diamond shape.
- Mix all the ingredients of Kung Pao Sauce
- Roast cashew nuts with a pan on medium heat. This takes about 5-8 minutes. You can add a little oil to help roasting. If your nuts come roasted, you don't have to do this step. Take out and set aside.
- In a wok or deep pan, drop in 1 cup of oil. When the oil heats up to about 300 F, drop in the shrimp(you can test with chopstick to see if bubbles come out, if so the oil is hot enough). Gently separate the shrimp, then add the celery. When the shrimp are half-cooked, drain or take out with a strainer.
- In a pan, use about 3 tbsp cooking oil, you can use the oil from the previous step as well. Drop in dry chilies and some Sichuan peppercorn. Slowly cook until you can smell the aroma. Drop in the aromatics cook until fragrant. Drop in shrimp and celery stir fry until just cooked. Stir Kung Pao sauce before adding in the pan, mix well as you can see the sauce thickens, lastly mix in the cashews. Mix well and serve.
Video
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