Sweet & Sour SHrimp
It feels good to be back, dear readers! I took an unannounced hiatus over the last few months and pulled up the stakes in Vermont. As much as Darryl and I love Vermont, — and we will certainly visit — we (or specifically me) just couldn’t take the cold and 6+ months of winter anymore.
We are now living in sunny Florida, and managed to complete everything related to the move — minus a few boxes left to unpack — before we hunkered down with the rest of the world in the Time of Coronavirus. We have made good use of the last couple of months by only going out for bare necessities. In the meantime we worked on our novel — SeedLand (can’t reveal much else about it yet) — writing sometimes for up to 13 hours a day.
Luckily my fridge, freezer and pantry are well stocked, so we have been eating well! We are in an area where many restaurants still offer touch-less take-out and delivery options. Yesterday we were in the mood for Chinese, but every restaurant we called — around half a dozen — was closed until further notice. Bummer.
I’m sure many of you understand that once you get a hankering for a particular food, and then you can’t get it, you just. can’t. stop. thinking. about. it. On the way home from visiting Darryl’s 93-year old mother, he suggested that I make Sweet & Sour Shrimp. I had just bought some nice fresh Florida shrimp, we already had Jasmine rice, and most of the other ingredients are pantry staples. Challenge accepted! The result was definitely crave-worthy!
Before I share the recipe with you, please take a moment to give a shoutout to Darryl’s mom, who came up with this wonderful idea to show her support to the USPS. #gousps
Yield: 2 SERVINGS
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound fresh raw shrimp (I used large)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
4 cloves garlic
6 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce (for less sodium, use liquid aminos)
2-3 teaspoons chili sauce (I used Sambal Oelek)
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
How is this sustainable ?
There are a number of ways this is sustainable:
- Local-caught shrimp
- Organic ketchup, natural cane sugar and non-GMO cornstarch
- And, we didn’t call for takeout!
Instructions
- Shell and de-vein shrimp, leave on tail
- Rinse shrimp, pat dry with paper towel, and set aside
- Chop scallions and set aside
- Mince garlic
- Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, mix until smooth
- Heat a wok or skillet with cooking oil on high heat
- Add garlic and stir fry until it is golden brown
- Add shrimp, stir fry until the surface turns white
- Add the sauce, stir, and cook for another minute
(if the sauce is too thick, add a little more water) - Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds