Salt & Pepper Shrimp

When I say that cooking can be both easy and delicious, I mean it. This is a dish that doesn’t require too much fuss but delivers amazing flavors. And what’s even better? You can make this in about 15 minutes! Yes, you read that correctly.

Salt and Pepper Shrimp is a dish I absolutely love! It’s crispy shrimp sautéed in peppers which adds a nice hint of spice. It’s one of my go-to orders at one of my favorite Chinese takeout spots in Brooklyn, Kum Kau . If you’re ever in Brooklyn, check them out! It’s been in business for years and it’s a sooo good. I used to order it and eat about half of the shrimp on the drive home. I know, very fat of me but also I couldn’t help myself lol.

Kum Kau is no longer close by so I created my take on the dish. A simple and delicious take may even taste better than theirs lol. Seriously!

Here are the deets:

• You can leave the tail on your shrimp if you’d like. I like to remove the tails to make this easier to enjoy

• I used jalapeños here but you’re free to use other hot peppers, if preferred. Thai birds eye chili, red chili peppers, or any other variety would go great here as well.

  • Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of spice you’re free to use red and green bell peppers. Although, this recipe is very mild in heat and not that spicy at all.

  • I do a mix of seeds in and seeds removed. I slice the jalapeños and then only remove the seeds out of half of the slices. This method provides a medium level of spice.

• Fresh cracked black pepper makes the dish, so I would recommend using cracked black pepper but if you have regular black pepper, you’re fine to use as well

Ingredients

• 1 lb of Shrimp, shells removed, cleaned, and deveined

• A pinch of salt

• 1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper

• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or Home Beis House blend

• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch

• Half of a jalapeño or other hot pepper, seeds removed and sliced

• 6 cloves of garlic, sliced

• 1 inch knob of ginger, sliced into matchsticks

• A quarter of a red bell pepper, sliced

• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

• 2-3 scallions , sliced (white and green parts)

• Oil, for frying

Directions
First we prep the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Season and then toss the shrimp until they’re all coated and seasoned.

Next, add cornstarch to a medium bowl and coat the shrimp in the cornstarch until fully coated. Set aside.

Next, we fry the shrimp. Add enough oil to fry the shrimp into a wok or skillet under medium to high heat. Once the oil is hot, add in shrimp and fry until golden on both side. Fry the shrimp in batches, if needed. You want to ensure that the shrimp fry nicely to get a nice crisp. Over crowding the pan could result in soggy shrimp. Once shrimp is fried and golden, transfer to a paper lined plate or to a rack. Set aside.

Then, drain the frying oil in your wok/skillet while leaving about a tablespoon of oil in the wok/skillet. We’ll need just a bit to sauté the rest of our ingredients. Once most of the oil is drained, heat the oil once more to bring the temperature up.

Now, we bring the dish together. Add the jalapeño, red bell pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, and scallions into the wok/skillet. Sauté until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes . The goal is to make sure that the garlic and ginger release their flavors while making sure that the peppers still have a nice bite to them.

Once fragrant, add in the fried shrimp and combine. Use a spatula or cooking spoon to combine all fo the flavors and to ensure that the shrimp is coated with all of the great flavors in your wok/skillet. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes and enjoy!

You can pair this dish with a side of white rice, fried rice, steamed veggies, or even toss in a salad. This dish is also great as an appetizer! I paired this dish with cauliflower fried rice as a nice balance and it was so delicious.