Kung Pao Shrimp Variation!

I set off yesterday looking through Kung Pao Shrimp recipes to find a sort of variation for it. I'm still going to try out a few different things, like adding cornstarch, but this recipe turned out to be a pretty good Kung Pao inspired stir fry. Most of these ingredients can be varied according to your taste- and the amount I made was about 2 servings worth.

Ingredients:

Approx. 1 Tbs Chilli Paste (Garlic Chilli Paste in this case)

Approx 3/4 cup Chicken Broth (I used low sodium)

1 1/2 cups broccoli

1/2 cup diced onions

1/4 lb shrimp

1/3 cup water chestnuts, sliced

1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

1 Tbs Minced Garlic

Ginger, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Garlic Salt, Soy sauce (To taste)

Brown or White Rice- I made about 1 cup of brown rice (dry) in a rice cooker.

I first put the chilli paste, chicken broth, and garlic in a nonstick frying pan on Medium heat, and let the garlic cook a little bit. I then mixed in the broccoli to let that cook for a while before adding the other ingredients (Approx 3 minutes). I then put the shrimp on on one side of the pan, and sprinkled them with a little bit of ginger, chilli powder, and cumin. I added the water chestnuts and onions to the broccoli and gave it a little stir.

Once the shrimp turn pink on one side, flip them, and then once they appear pink on the other side, you can go ahead and stir all the ingredients together and let them cook a few more minutes. At this point, throw in as many peanuts as you want and give it a stir. You really just want to cook it until the broccoli is tender to your preferences- as once the shrimp become firm and pink they should be done.

Once the broccoli was cooked to my liking, I mixed in the cooked rice in the pan, and drizzled some soy sauce over the top before giving it another stir. And we're done! Like I said- this really can be varied in SO many ways based on your preferences. You could even add other vegetables or try it with chicken instead of shrimp. I'll keep you updated on future attempts at a more genuine Kung Pao recipe!