Shrimp Kung Pao

Shrimp or Chicken Kung Pao is one of those items on every Chinese restaurant's menu that many people love to eat. All the different textures and flavors from the crunchy toasted peanuts, to the sweet and tender shrimp pieces make it seem like an impossible thing to re-create at home, much less on-the-go. What is truly awesome about many Asian cooking is that it is stir fried, meaning, cooked at a really high temperature, so it cooks real fast. Perfect for On The Go Gourmet recipes. And if you're using already cooked shrimp, the cooking time is even faster without comprosing flavor. Once you figure out how fast and simply it is to make this dish in your own kitchen, you'll never want to do take out again!

SHRIMP KUNG PAO

1 lb medium cooked deveined and shell-off shrimp

1 cup of unsalted peanuts

1 cup of chopped onion (red or Spanish)

1 cup of chopped green bell pepper

8 oz can of roughly chopped waterchestnuts

2 TBL of cornstarch

1/3 cup of rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of chicken stock 

2 tsp of sesame oil

2 TBL of canola oil

2 TBL of brown sugar

1 tsp of red pepper flakes

1 tsp of salt

In a mixing bowl, mix the cornstarch & brown sugar with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock and salt. Whisk until the ingredients are well mixed and the cornstarch has desolved.

In a wok or large saute pan, heat the canola oil under high heat. Once the pan is hot, toast the peanuts until it is golden brown, then add the chopped onion, waterchestnuts and green bell peppers with the red pepper flakes. Saute for about 1 minute then add the sauce mixture. When the sauce mixture has started to thicken, add the cooked shrimp and cook until the shrimp has heated through. Be careful NOT to overcook the shrimp as it will tend to break apart. You want the shrimp to still be somewhat firm. Serve over white or brown rice.