Cashew Shrimp
A quick, easy, delicious weeknight dinner served over rice. If you don't have a wok, this can be easily made in a skillet.
A Necessary Ingredient
This is just as easily made in a skillet as a wok, but I think the wok is more fun.
You will need a Thai-Style Chili Sauce for this dish, giving it the spice it needs which you will offset with a little bit of brown sugar. While there are many brands of chili sauce on the market, Kikkoman is a reputable and widely available brand.
The dish is easily made with using frozen, thawed shrimp that has been peeled, de-veined and tails removed.
Cashew Shrimp
Yield: 4
A quick, easy, delicious week night dinner served over rice. If you don't have a wok, this can be easily made in a skillet.
Ingredients
- 1 lb large or jumbo shrimp, peeled, de-veined, tails removed
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into one inch square pieces
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into one inch square pieces
- 2/3 cup whole cashews
- 3 green onions, chopped on the bias
- 1/3 cup peanut oil
- 3 tbsp Thai-Style Chili Sauce (like, Kikkoman)
- 3 tbsp dry sherry wine
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce (like, Pearl River Bridge)
- 2 tsp garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/3 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix the Thai style chili sauce, sherry, dark soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, five-spice powder and the brown sugar in a bowl and set aside. Taste the sauce. You want a balance of salt, sweet and heat. Depending on the Thai hot sauce you use, you may want more brown sugar.
- Heat the wok on the stove over high heat, and add the peanut oil. Once the oil is shimmering and almost at the smoking point, throw in the shrimp.
- Stir fry the shrimp for about 2 minutes until they turn pink. Don't overcook them, and remove them to a platter.
- Add more peanut oil if necessary, then throw in the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes more. You want the onion and the peppers to be caramelizing and browning at the edges.
- Add the sauce mixture and allow to boil and bubble, reducing by about a third. Add the shrimp and heat through.
- Finish the dish with the cashews and green onion. Give it all a good turn with your chaun, making sure the sauce coasts everything.
Notes
- Frozen shrimp thaw very quickly in a colander under cold running water, turning and tossing the shrimp frequently to get its cold water shower.
- Do this about 30 minutes prior to using, then dry the shrimp well and roll up into paper towels. Allow them to rest in the fridge until ready for the recipe.
- Like any good wok chef, prepare all your ingredients ahead of time so they are at the ready and within arms reach before you begin, known in French cooking terminology as Mis en Place.
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