Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry
This is a quick and easy stir fry. I encourage you to play around with it and let me know any changes that worked for you.
This is a quick and easy stir fry. I encourage you to play around with it and let me know any changes that worked for you.
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- marinade
- vegetables
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper ground
- 4 teaspoons honey
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons chinese five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 pound raw shrimp; tail off, peeled, deveined
- 8 ounces water chestnuts, sliced
- 15 ounces baby corn
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 10 dried chinese tien tsin chiles
- Carbohydrate 30.9108611401629 g
- Cholesterol 113.493333333333 mg
- Fat 13.32698404595 g
- Fiber 3.79312613741568 g
- Protein 18.900204600097 g
- Saturated Fat 1.53361441632323 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (714g)
- Sodium 567.093215413183 mg
- Sugar 27.1177350027473 g
- Trans Fat 0.982741910339298 g
- Calories 313 calories
Step-by-step
- Prepare marinade by mixing garlic, white pepper, honey, soy sauce, five spice powder, rice wine and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Let shrimp sit in marinade in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Heat canola oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp with marinade and cook until shrimp begins to turn pink (3-4 minutes). Remove shrimp to a bowl with a slotted spoon and tent bowl with foil to keep warm.
- Add water chestnuts, baby corn, onion, red bell pepper, broccoli and chiles to wok or skillet and stir fry until hot. Add cooked shrimp back to wok and heat through.
- Serve over white rice and remove chiles for those that don't want it too spicy.
How does sugar behave when introduced to intense heat alongside soy sauce and aromatics? The marinade combines honey, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, and five spice powder to coat the shrimp before cooking. Soy sauce provides free amino acids that react with reducing sugars from the honey during high-heat cooking through Maillard and caramelization pathways. This chemical reaction builds a dark, savory glaze directly on the protein surface while sealing in internal moisture.
Shrimp proteins denature rapidly when exposed to direct thermal energy. Cooking the crustacean for three to four minutes until it turns pink prevents the tight muscle fibers from squeezing out all their internal water and turning rubbery. Removing the shrimp immediately with a slotted spoon halts this protein tightening process while leaving behind flavored cooking fats in the wok.
Vegetables like water chestnuts, baby corn, onions, bell peppers, and broccoli require careful management to retain their crispness. Water content dictates cellular collapse during stir frying. Retaining crunch depends on keeping the cooking time short over high heat so steam does not break down the pectin cell walls completely. Dried Chinese Tien Tsin chiles release capsaicin into the hot oil, infusing the surrounding pan contents with lipid-soluble heat.
Balancing these pungent and sweet elements requires careful attention to the marinade ratios. Six tablespoons of soy sauce counteract four teaspoons of honey, preventing the dish from becoming cloying. Leaving the chiles whole allows diners to extract them easily if the heat level exceeds preference.
