Kung Pao Shrimp is a Chinese food restaurant classic. It’s a spicy garlic stir fry that’s healthy, easy and ready in about 20 minutes!
Kung Pao Chicken is a go-to favorite Chinese dish but sometimes you want to switch it up a bit. This shrimp version has all the spicy, delicious flavors but feels like a completely new dish!
Sabrina’s Kung Pao Shrimp Recipe
As a kid, one of the best meals from Panda Inn (Yes, Panda Inn as in the original restaurant before the whole Panda Express empire even existed!) was the super vaguely named “Spicy Garlic Shrimp”. My Kung Pao Shrimp is a savory recipe inspired by that dish. It features juicy shrimp coated in a mild and earthy base with hints of garlic and ginger that just pop out with the crunchy peanuts. The crisp bell peppers lend color and a vibrant flare to the dish. The signatory Szechuan chilis bring it all together with a deeper sweet and nutty flavor that makes the mouth water just at the very mention here!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound shrimp , (16-20 count) peeled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons ginger , minced
- 10 Chinese szechuan chilis
- 1/2 green bell pepper , thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon cooking wine , or white wine
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch , mixed with 4 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup green onions , cut into 1" segments
- 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Add the vegetable oil to a heavy skillet on medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
- Remove the shrimp from the pan.
- Add in the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, red chili peppers and green bell peppers and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add in the cooking wine, soy sauce and cornstarch slurry.
- Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently until slightly thickened.
- Add in the peanuts and green onions and stir.
- Add in the shrimp and stir together before serving.
Nutrition
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Table of contents
About this Recipe
Kung Pao recipes have always been a go-to when picking out Asian entrees. The name means something that is stir-fried and served with a spicy sauce. You’re probably used to seeing the chicken version but this one is filled with tender, plump shrimp. If you are a seafood lover with a craving for something spicy, this dish is for you!
Chef’s Note: Szechuan Chilies
Szechuan chilies are from the Sichuan province in southwest China. They are similar to the Mexican chili árbol found in many USA grocery stores, with a spicy yet sweet flavor. Cooking them whole though means you get the flavor without making a super spicy sauce since the pepper flakes don’t come out. This way, if you need to make it a kid-friendly dish, you can just pick out the spicy peppers.
How to peel and devein shrimp
Be sure to thaw frozen shrimp before peeling and de-veining. Here’s how to do it:
- Tear away at the shell above the first segment of the shell (the tail segment).
- Take a paring knife and make a shallow cut along the spine of the shrimp (the back of it).
- Using the paring knife or a fork, gently remove the black strip of intestines.
- To remove tails just squeeze the shrimp out from the bottom of the tail segment.
Ingredients
- Shrimp: Use medium to large size shrimp for this recipe. Make sure they are thawed if frozen.
- Bell Peppers: This recipe uses green bell peppers, also called capsicum. You can use red, yellow, and orange bell peppers if you don’t have the green peppers.
- Szechuan chili: These chilis are prized for their depth of flavor in many global cuisines. They are a bit spicy on the inside which is why you don’t open them while cooking. You can find them at a local Asian market or international section in your local grocery store.
- Peanuts: Dry roasted peanuts can be salty or non-salty since this recipe doesn’t add salt.
- Wine: Using a white wine will give a light tanginess that amps up the recipe. If you don’t have wine or prefer to not use wine, you can easily substitute for equal parts rice vinegar.
How to Make
Time needed: 15 minutes
- Cook shrimp
Cook the shrimp. Because shrimp cooks very quickly do not do any prep work while cooking.
- Add aromatics
After removing the shrimp, add in the garlic and ginger along with the other aromatics in rapid succession.
- Add sauce
Mix in sauce ingredients.
- Finish dish
Finally, drop the peanuts and onions for a minute before adding back in the shrimp and serving.
Side Dish Ideas
- Rice – Serve with Steamed Rice or Fried Rice. Brown rice is another popular option as well. The Kung Pao sauce will seep into the rice giving it a really nice flavor.
- Noodles – Add a quick Classic Chinese Chow Mein to the menu and you’ll have a complete Chinese meal!
- Vegetables – Serve it over your favorite steamed or sauteed vegetables like Chinese Broccoli, bok choy, or mixed greens.
How to Store
- Store: You can keep the shrimp for a day or two in the refrigerator in a sealed, airtight container.
- Reheat: It’s best to reheat in a pan over medium heat, stirring frequently until it’s hot all the way through.
- Freeze: Meal prepping has never been so delicious. This is the perfect way to portion out your meals for the week. The recipe will keep fresh in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Frequent Questions
Yes! The only things to rein in is how much oil you’re using in the wok. Keeping the oil to a minimum you can enjoy this dish as much as you’d like. There isn’t too much sugar or added salt in the dish. Plus, it’s a low carb meal.
This recipe utilizes the flavorful red Chinese Szechuan (Sichuan) chilis which give the sauce its distinct flavor. If you don’t have these on hand, chili árbol is a similar variety used in Mexican cuisine, although a bit more spicy.
In many recipes, the red chile is blackened on the outside before being cooked into the dish. Doing so gives a smoky, earthy flavor to the dish that many people absolutely love. You can do so by searing the chilies separately in a touch of oil, stirring frequently once they begin to cook. Note, they will start to smoke terribly if overcooked so watch them carefully.
A wok is great for high heat and quick cooking. It’s a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir-frys in general. Alternatively, the large frying pan is an excellent choice as well.
The use of the entire chili pepper is meant to add a bit of spicy heat to the dish without overpowering it. As the dish cooks it gets a small punch of heat from the exterior of the pepper cooking in the sauce without overwhelming the dish.
Variations
- Add-ins: Many Asian dishes go well with water chestnuts which add a lot more crunch to the dish. You could also add baby corn, bamboo shoots, or bok choy.
- Sweetener. This dish has a rich savory sauce, but you can add a bit of sweetness with 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
More Kung Pao Recipes
Images used in a previous version of this post:
This looks amazing, I have to try it.
Considering I had to sub alot of the ingredients it turned out delicious! At some point I will have the correct ingredients. I cannot wait to try it again !
Yay!!
I thought Kung Pao shrimp is supposed to be a bit sweet as well as spicy. Some recipes for example add hoisin sauce or sugar.
Feel free to adjust it to your liking.
I made kong poa shrimp tonight. There wasn’t much liquid in the pan after it all. The meal was just fair. It probably would have tasted better over rice.
How much ginger do you add to this dish?
So sorry about that…not sure how that got deleted. The recipe uses 2 teaspoons.
Thanks for catching that!
Thanks! I will probably try making this dish this week or next!
Lovely, but needs some seious sweetness such as dark brown sugar. Asparagus chunks work well with this to!!! Enjoy the recipes!!!
This looks mouthwatering delicious. Can hardly wait to make it.
Thank you! I’d love to know what you think after trying!
I just love how quickly this can be on the dinner table! 🙂
Yes! So great for those busy weeknights for sure!
I love a good shrimp dish! This one I have to make!
Enjoy!
Such a great recipe! Definitely must try this!
Thanks Erin!
My family will love this shrimp! So flavorful!
Thank you Anna!
This looks better than anything I can get from a local restaurant.
Aw, thank you! I hope you enjoy it!!
Definitely saving this to make soon 🙂
Sabrina,
YA KILLIN’ ME HERE! I bought all the ingredients for the Kung Pao Chicken to make tomorrow and now this???? We absolutely LOVE Kung Pao Shrimp. You have so many great recipes on your site, I don’t know where to start. I left a review on your Panda Express copycat chow mein, which I have made twice already, even though I’m not much on repeating meals, that’s how awesome it was.
Haha, sounds like I’m giving you the RIGHT kind of problems!! I’m so happy to see that you’re enjoying all the recipes.
I love Kung Pao chicken and where do you find these chili peppers you need or shrimp Kung Pao.
You can buy them from Amazon. https://amzn.to/2GlwOgO
Could you please add nutrition data to your recipes
Sorry I don’t have the nutritional facts for recipes on the site but I know there are a lot of free resources on the internet from when I’ve cooked for clients with low calorie diets.