This Week's Meals (1/4): Tangy Spicy Shrimp

This meal kind of has a story behind it. Heck even the making of this meal has a funny story behind it.

Right off the bat - I LOVE SHRIMP. De-vein and boil the heck out of it, and I'll eat it all day long. So when I order Chinese food, and something has shrimp in it, if I'm in the mood, I'll pick it up.

My main years in Austin were 2001-2006, and again 2014-2015. During those years, my main source of Chinese food was Super China - Austin and one of the appetizers I love love LOVED was "Tangy Spicy Shrimp." Oddly, I've never seen this offered anywhere else. After leaving Austin, I found my local Chinese place, Twin Dragon Chinese Restaraunt, pretty darned good but they didn't have it either.

Over the years, I've tried to make my own version, or look online for a recipe (I found stuff that seemed close, but when I got it, it wasn't). One seemed VERY close, but it was served cold, and mine wasn't cold, so I never made it.

Finally, I just got fed up and decided to go to the source. I actually called up Austin Super China and decided to ask them what the heck it was. I wasn't expecting an answer, honestly, but I just called in and laid it out on the line "I loved your Tangy Spicy Shrimp, but I live in Seattle now, and no one out here has it. Do you know if it goes by another name, or if you know the name in Chinese?" And the guy on the other end says "It's sometimes called Cold Shrimp." I asked if he had a recipe, and of course they said they couldn't give that out, which I was fine with. I had another name I could look online for....

..."cold shrimp." That reminds me that I saw a recipe for "Tangy Spicy Shrimp" served cold. What if THAT'S actually it? So I tried to remember the search terms for the recipe, and found it! From the New York Times of all things, in 1975! https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/29/archives/three-specialties-from-chef-wang.html

So, I decided to give it a try. And when I calculated the nutritional info, the recipe he gave was pretty miniscule, making barely one serving of what I'd want out of a meal. So I scaled it up to five meals, which lead to some ridiculous measurement.

Scaled up, I needed five cups of chopped scallions. I bought three bundles of scallions, which was about 21 scallions. That made only three cups. Holy cow. A third of a cup of garlic chili paste AND Hot Oil. And 7 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil.

Except it wasn't 7 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil. It was TEASPOONS. But when I saw "5 tablespoons garlic chili paste" and hot oil, 7 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil didn't sound ridiculous.

That said, even with FAR too much sesame oil, it still tastes good, and is far far FAR closer to what Austin Super China had as Tangy Spicy Shrimp. I'm not gonna call it just yet, but instead, I'll make it again with the right amount of sesame oil, since I think more of the garlic chili paste flavor will come through, which was the main flavor in Austin Super China's Tangy Spicy Shrimp.

# Tangy Spicy Shrimp

The New York Times
1.0 servings

0.5 pound raw shrimp
1.0 cup scallions (finely chopped)
1.0 clove garlic (minced)
1.0 teaspoon fresh red chili pepper (finely chopped)
1.0 teaspoon fresh ginger (finely chopped)
1.0 teaspoon dry sherry
salt
0.5 teaspoon ground white pepper
1.0 teaspoon five spices powder
1.0 tablespoon garlic chili paste
1.0 tablespoon hot oil
1.5 teaspoons sesame oil

1 - Shell and devein the shrimp. If the shrimp are large, cut them in half.
2 - Bring enough water to cover the shrimp to the boil.
3 - Add the shrimp and cook about one minute.
4 - Drain the shrimp and run under cold running water.
5 - Pat the shrimp dry. Refrigerate.
6 - Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the shrimp. Serve cold.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking