Kung Pao Shrimp with Roasted Cashews

A few weeks ago I made my favorite Chinese dish, Kung Pao Chicken. I liked it so much that I wanted to try it with shrimp.

Kung Pao Shrimp with Roasted Cashews

I'm so glad I did! Wow, this dish comes together so quickly and it's really easy to make. The ingredient list looks long, but half of it you just stir together in a little bowl to make the amazing sauce and voila! You're almost done! When I made the chicken dish I used peanuts because that's what it usually comes with. This time, I used cashews because they are more fancy and I thought they would pair better with the shrimp.

Wait, is shrimp fancy? It is now. Oh you fancy, huh?!

This dish ended up a little spicier than the kung pao chicken and I liked it even better. This girl likes things spiiiiiicy!

Tip: Make sure you have the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and green onion prepped so you can quickly add them. Like I mentioned, once you start cooking, this dish comes together very quickly!

Kung Pao Shrimp with Roasted Cashews
     serves 4
Marinade
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 T corn starch + 1 T water
1 T low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sesame seed oil for frying

Sauce and Veggies
1 T corn starch + 1 T water
1 T sesame oil
1/3 C reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T chili paste
2 tsp chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha
1 T rice wine vinegar
8 dried red chilies, broken in half
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 small onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 green onions, chopped, plus more for topping
1/2 C roasted, salted cashews or cashew pieces*

In a medium bowl, mix corn starch and water together. Add soy sauce and shrimp. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop veggies and set side. To make the sauce, in a small bowl, mix the corn starch and water together. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, chili paste, and chili sauce and mix together.
In a wok or large skillet, heat the tsp of sesame oil over medium heat and add shrimp. Cook for about 2 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through. Remove shrimp from wok and set aside. Add the chilies and cook for about 1 minute. Add the ginger, garlic and onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the green bell pepper and green onions. Cook for 2 minutes or until the onion and pepper are softened. Add the shrimp back into the wok and pour in the sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens up a bit. Lastly, add in the cashews and stir to combine everything.

Serve it up smokin' hot and top with additional green onions.

The first time we ate this, I served it by itself in a bowl. For the leftovers, we ate it over brown rice. This would be great with jasmine rice, noodles on in lettuce wraps also.

*If you don't have or can't find roasted cashews, you can easily toast them in a skillet before you start, or you can simply add them when you add in the chilies. Just be careful not to burn them because they will cook up quickly.