Whenever I’m looking to make a fast and easy dinner I turn to seafood. It cooks up in a flash and takes on flavours well. Shrimp is one of my go-to seafoods, if only because I usually have frozen shrimp in the fridge. It’s a habit that probably comes from my mom – she often stocks up on big boxes of frozen shrimp when they’re on sale. Now, that I have my own freezer, I find myself doing the same. Of course, sometimes my mom stocks up on shrimp for me too – thanks mom!
These spicy salt and pepper shrimp are perfect for demonstrating that you don’t need a lot of ingredients to get a lot of flavour. Like most Chinese stir-fry, you’ve got your usual suspects: garlic, salt and two kinds of pepper. If you don’t have white pepper, don’t worry about it, but a lot of Chinese food uses white pepper as a flavouring and it’s fairly distinctive tasting: sharper, yet more delicate at the same time. I added in some diced jalapeños for a bit of spice and finished it off with some sliced green onions. These guys, a big bowl of fluffy white rice, some simple greens, and I’m a happy camper!
Crispy Salt and Pepper Shrimp Recipe
serves 2
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, diced, seeds removed if desired
- 1-2 stalks green onion, sliced
- grain of choice, to serve
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. In bowl, toss the shrimp, cornstarch, white & black pepper and salt together. Heat up a bit of oil in a heavy bottomed skilled over medium heat. Add the garlic, 1/2 of the jalapeños and 1/2 of the green onions. Cook, stirring, until crisp and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the coated shrimp and cook, until pink and firm, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and toss with the remaining jalapeños and green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and enjoy hot with your grain of choice. I usually serve this with lots of fluffy white rice and a simple stir-fried vegetable dish.
What kind of oil should I use?
i like using grapeseed or rice bran oil. you can use sunflower or canola as well. basically anything with a high smoke point. even vegetable oil. hope that helps!
I absolutely agree with you on this topic. I do the same thing. It’s also a nice difference from meat.
Add fresh grated ginger, garlic and sesame oil to this recipe! Awesome!