If you love shrimp as much as I do, and you also happen to love Chinese takeout, then my Chinese chili garlic shrimp is a recipe you’ve simply got to try. In a matter of minutes, you can have juicy shrimp with a crispy exterior on your plate. The sauce is perfectly spicy and garlicky with just the right amount of sweetness. Whether you’ve had a busy day or you simply don’t want to do very much to get dinner on the table, all it takes is a few simple ingredients to pull it together. Choose fresh shrimp if you can find them because the better the quality, the more you’re going to love it.
Chili garlic shrimp ingredients
It seems that most people already have these ingredients in their kitchen. I use my homemade chili garlic sauce, though you can use store-bought if you can’t find what you need to make the homemade sauce. My chili garlic shrimp recipe calls for Shaoxing wine as an optional ingredient. While it adds another bit of complexity to the flavor profile, you will still get an amazing chili garlic shrimp dish even without it. When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
Marinated shrimp Mixed sauce Minced ginger Cornstarch and flour (not shown in the photo because you can directly add them to the marinated shrimp right before cooking)
How to cook chili garlic shrimp
Cooking chili garlic shrimp is so easy. All you need to do is: NOTE: coat the shrimp with cornstarch and flour right before cooking. It will keep the coating extra crispy and crunchy. TIP: Set your rice cooker to steam some white rice, which goes perfectly with the shrimp as it soaks in that sensational sauce, and you’ll have a well-rounded, totally satisfying dinner on your table.
Crispy shrimp without deep frying
You don’t even need a wok for this. I prefer a medium-sized skillet. This shallow-fry technique gives you that crispy texture for these chili garlic shrimp while using much less oil. It’s a healthier version of the takeout delight, one that will surely brighten up your meal.
How to serve chili garlic shrimp
Top chili garlic shrimp over steamed rice for a quick one bowl meal. You can also serve it as one of the main dishes for a multi-course dinner. Here are some other dishes that go well with chili garlic shrimp:
Beef Chow Fun (干炒牛河) Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry Garlic Beef (蒜香牛肉粒) Salt and Pepper Pork Chops (椒盐猪排) Choy Sum with Garlic Sauce (白灼菜心) Moo Goo Gai Pan (蘑菇鸡片) Spinach Egg Drop Soup
This dish is beyond simple, beyond flavorful, and beyond impressive when entertaining guests, though you may just want to keep enjoying this one for yourself for a while!
More Chinese takeout recipes
Need a more complete Chinese takeout-at-home experience? Make these simple dishes below to serve with the chili garlic shrimp:
Vegetable Lo Mein Leftover Ham Fried Rice with Pineapple Chicken and Broccoli (Chinese Takeout Style) How to Make Chinese Egg Rolls Chinese Egg Drop Soup
Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
