Sichuan Shrimp: Intensely Enjoyable
Food from Sichuan province is such a treat if you’re into bold flavors. The aromatics that go into Sichuan dishes always have me salivating. The chile peppers, tingly peppercorns, and fermented umami bomb of doubanjiang combine for a zesty and irresistible experience. This simple Sichuan shrimp stir fry gives you all that flavor in an easy-to-make way.
Ingredients
Making authentic tasting Sichuan shrimp stir fry requires a few special ingredients. If you cook Sichuan often, you probably already have all the ingredients on hand and ready to go. Give it a try and it may become your new favorite shrimp dish!
Chinese dried chili peppers
This recipe uses the most common Sichuan chilis – Facing Heaven. They’re medium spicy and full of fruity taste with a beautiful red color. If you cannot find them, you can replace them with Korean dried chili peppers, which are mild enough so your dish won’t become too spicy.
Sichuan peppercorns
Sichuan peppercorn is the key ingredient in many Sichuan recipes and it gives the dish a numbing tingling sensation. The peppercorns themselves are not spicy at all. The Mala Market carries the freshest Sichuan peppercorns sourced directly from Sichuan. It’s the ingredient that I always keep on hand. You can’t miss this ingredient if you like dishes such as Dan Dan Noodles.
Doubanjiang
Another key ingredient in Sichuan cooking. Doubanjiang a super rich, spicy, and salty paste made from fermented broad beans and chili peppers. It’s the key ingredient for Mapo Tofu, and you can use it in veggie stew and soup to easily add umami to a dish. You can find it at any Chinese grocery store or online. Once you’re done prepping, your table should have the ingredients below:
Straightforward Process
To make Sichuan shrimp, all it takes is a quick marinade. Then you shallow-fry the shrimp until they get a nice, light and crispy texture on the outside. Then you stir fry it with chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and plenty of aromatics. All these ingredients unite to give you an incredible, rich taste.
Remember to Deseed the Peppers
In this Sichuan shrimp dish, you’ll be using cut and seeded dried Chinese Sichuan chili peppers. This will give your shrimp lots of aroma and flavor but without being too spicy. If you’d prefer a spicy shrimp with sauce, you can try making my chili garlic shrimp sometime too!
A Shortcut if You Need It
It only takes 30 minutes in total to make Sichuan Shrimp, but if you want an even easier method, you can skip the shallow frying and simply pan fry the shrimp instead. You’ll still have outstanding and authentic flavor, the kind that makes Sichuan province so revered for its cuisine.
Make Sichuan Shrimp Into a Meal
While you cook this, you can steam white rice and blanch some green veggies to serve with it. You can also make an exciting presentation for date-night-at-home by plating it on individual bowls of steamed white rice with those blanched veggies. A side salad also works too if you just want to keep your vegetables separate. Any way that you serve it, you’re in for a quick and easy meal that looks and tastes luxurious!
Quick & Easy Sides to Pair with the Sichuan Shrimp
4-Ingredient Baby Bok ChoyBean Sprout Stir FryHot & Sour Sauteed CabbageEgg Drop SoupChinese Pickled Cucumber (A Quick Pickle Recipe)
More Delicious Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp with Scrambled EggsSalt & Pepper ShrimpShrimp & Snow PeasChinese Chili Garlic Shrimp
Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
