Healthy Recipe: Shrimp Stir Fry for a Quick & Easy Dinner

I made this recipe one day when I had a bunch of veggies that I needed to use and I wasn't really sure what to make. I knew I had shrimp in the freezer and I always have rice so ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, stir fry it is! This is not a fancy or detailed recipe that requires a high level of cooking expertise, which is why I love it! It looks and tastes appealing while being quick and super easy for a delicious meal after your nine to five, a long day with the chitlins or what-have-you!

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I used a rice cooker for my rice so I could set it and forget it.  I tend to make one cups worth (measured dry) for one meal plus leftovers, so adjust accordingly.

Next I made the sauce.  In a bowl I whisked together water and corn starch then added rice vinegar, sesame oil, coco aminos as a soy sauce substitute, and chili sauce.

After setting that aside, I rough chopped the veggies to include: sweet onion, carrot, red bell pepper, and one head of bok choi.  Those are the veggies I used, but the options are truly endless.  If I had them on hand, I would have added broccoli and mushrooms, personally.

I also rinsed and shelled my shrimp and dried them with a paper towel.  Shrimp makes SUCH a beautiful and simple protein source.

Now the prep is done and it’s time to cook.  I grabbed my sauté pan and cooked the veggies in extra virgin olive oil.  I prefer a light cook to maintain the nutrients as much as possible, but you can cook to your preference.  I then set the veggies aside and cooked the shrimp in the pan.  At this point you can cook the shrimp with a little sesame oil added to the pan for more flavor if you like it. I seasoned the shrimp with onion, garlic and ginger powder and just a dash of salt.  Once the shrimp are just cooked through, I also removed them from the heat.

Okay so I fibbed a bit, there is a tiny bit more prep work.  If you have it and like it, to add depth of flavor and nutritional benefit, I put fresh ginger and garlic in the pan for the final cook of this dish.  I just minced the garlic and ginger but you can also use a fine grater.  I then added them to the pan and let them cook maybe a minute or two, just until fragrant.  Then I added the sauce to the pan.  I stirred this on low/med heat as the sauce thickened for just a minute or two before adding the shrimp and veggies back into the pan just to reheat.

This step is totally optional, but I LOVE bok choi, so I also poached a head of bok choi in boiling water or about 4 minutes to add to the side of this dish.  All that required was bringing a pot of water to boil and placing the full head in the pot (after rinsing it of course).  I cut the base of the bok choi off before eating it, but leaving it intact keeps the shape together while it poaches.  You can also poach and then dry the bok choi before adding it to the tor fry if you want it to be a bit more cooked than the other veggies.

To feast, I simply served the veggie and shrimp mixture over rice and topped the dish with sesame seeds.  You could add basil too if you like a little extra peppery flavor.

I hope you enjoy the vibrance and ease of this recipe as much as I do.  Dig in!

RECIPE

Ingredients (with suggested measurements for two servings)

Sauce:

• Water 3 tbsp

• Corn starch 1 tbsp

• Sesame oil ½ tbsp

• Coco aminos 3 tbsp

• Chili sauce ½ tbsp

Veggies:

• half of a small onion

• two or three carrots

• one head of bok choi

• one red bell pepper

• thumb of fresh ginger (to taste)

• one to two cloves of fresh garlic (to taste)

Other Ingredients

• shrimp (i used frozen ez peel, about 8 shrimp to a serving)

• white rice (I prefer long grain)

• seseme seeds

• olive oil or oil of choice for pan cooking

• Note: for a vegan option, you can easily substitute the shrimp with tofu or tempeh!

1. Cook the rice in a rice cooker or according to package

2. In a small bowl, whisk water, corn starch, sesame oil, coco aminos and chili sauce to make the sauce and set aside.

3. Chop and cook the veggies in oil of choice for a few minutes (until they have reached desired level of softness) then remove from pan

4. Add more oil and sear shrimp in the pan. Season with salt/pepper etc as desired. After flipping to cook on both sides, remove shrimp from pan.

5. Option to add chopped fresh ginger and garlic to pan and cook for only one to two minutes until fragrant. Add sauce to pan and allow to thicken while stirring for one to two minutes

6. Return shrimp and veggies to pan to mix in with the sauce and reheat.

7. serve over rice with option to add sesame seeds for garnish.

   Tuck in!