Easy Szechwan Shrimp

The only thing better than good eats, is good eats, FAST! Last night I made Szechwan Shrimp for dinner. This recipe is super easy, super fast and super good! The sauce is made from ingredients that I usually have in my pantry and refrigerator anyway. It turned out okay, except I did a few things different from the recipe below. Instead of cooked shrimp, I used raw shrimp and I since I wanted to add some veggies to it, I added one red bell pepper and one small yellow onion (you can add whatever veggies you have on hand like zucchini, broccoli or even string beans). I swapped out ground ginger for a teaspoon or two of fresh ginger (which gave it great flavor). I also decided to marinate the shrimps in a light dusting of corn starch to help keep them moister while they cooked, and of course I seasoned them with salt and pepper. First, I cooked up the onion and bell pepper in some vegetable oil. Then I added the garlic and green onions and then added the raw shrimp. After the shrimps started turning pink, I added the sauce mixture. 

I think next time I will increase the honey to 1 tablespoon because it didn't seem sweet enough. This may be because I used Trader Joe's organic ketchup which doesn't have added sugar in it, so it isn't as sweet as Heinz ketchup or other brands. There was no problem with the heat level with adding 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red peppers. In fact, I might use real peppers next time, either whole dried red chiles or maybe a jalapeno to add some more heat to the dish. I also added some sprigs of cilantro for garnish to give it a fresher taste and appearance. Overall, I liked this recipe and it was very easy and very quick to prepare. I'll just make those additional adjustments the next time I prepare this dish, but this sauce is super versatile and could be used with chicken or beef or pork. YUM!

Szechwan Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/4 cup sliced green onions 4 cloves garlic, minced 12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.
2.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened. Szechwan Shrimp Recipe is courtesy of allrecipes.com