Cooking | Shrimp Stir Fry

Todd and I love to try out new recipes together from America's Test Kitchen. We love watching the episodes on PBS as well. When I came upon the episode with Stir-Fried Shrimp with Snow Peas and Red Bell Peppers in Hot and Sour Sauce, I knew I had to try it.



This recipe would be mainly my thing, because Todd does NOT eat shrimps. He just hates them. But I love them, and he was still supportive.  :) We went to Costco together and got some frozen shrimps. If you watch the episode online (email registration required), you will find out that even "fresh" shrimp at the supermarket had been frozen before. So you might as well purchase the individually flash-frozen shrimp in a big bag, since they're likely "fresher" than the seafood counter, where the shrimp had been thawed. ATK has tips on what types of shrimps to buy too.

Following the recipe (I actually halved the recipe, since Todd wasn't eating), I first combined the minced garlic with shrimp, ginger, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and salt in a bowl. I covered and left the shrimp marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature.


While that's happening, I chopped up the veggies. I substituted french green beans for the snow peas, because that's what I had on hand.


Then I made the sauce by whisking soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, sherry, sesame oil, ketchup, and cornstarch together.


Then I heated oil over high heat and stir-fried the veggies first, until they began to brown.

Then I transferred them to a bowl.

Then I added the remaining tablespoon oil to my now-empty skillet and let it heat until just smoking. Next I added the garlic-shallot mixture and stirred frequently, until just beginning to brown.


Then it was time to add the shrimp. According to America's Test Kitchen, the key to cooking shrimps just right and tender, is to reduce the heat. Shrimp do not cook the same as other meats like beef and chicken. So I reduced the heat to medium-low and stirred frequently, until shrimp are light pink on both sides.




Next I added the soy sauce mixture to the skillet and returned to high heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and shrimp are cooked through.


Finally, I added back the vegetables to the skillet, tossed everything to combine with the sauce.


Dinner served! Well, my dinner anyways. I picked up a BBQ beef sandwich for Todd from Brett's BBQ on the way home from work, LOL.


I'm happy to report that I've never made a shrimp stir-fry this good at home! In fact, this was better than a lot of the shrimp stir-frys I've gotten at restaurants even! The shrimps were tender and the sauce was so aromatic and yummy. Loved the garlic and shallots too. Yet another winner from America's Test Kitchen!