Sweet Chili Shrimp
Sweet Chili Shrimp is a great sweet, spicy, and tangy dish. Skip the gloopy store bought Thai Sweet Chili sauce and mix yours together with just a few basic ingredients and you'll have a fresh and flavorful sauce to coat your shrimp in! I love to add some fresh jalapeno slices to this to give this dish some heat, but you can absolutely pass on the peppers and just have the shrimp over rice.
If you’re looking for something for dinner that’s fresh, healthy, guilt free, and full of flavor, look no further than my recipe for Sweet Chili Shrimp. I’ve bypassed the gloopy store bought sweet chili sauce and made my own homemade (and dye free) version. Rice vinegar gives you the perfect tang while sugar mellows out the sharpness of the vinegar, all being met with the savory combination of ginger and garlic. I like my shrimp spicy, so I add slices of jalapenos in the end for a big kick of spice, but if your family is like mine and doesn’t like spicy food, you can always omit them and the dish will be just as delicious. This recipe is truly the perfect substitute for takeout since you know exactly what goes in it and it’s cooked with less fat and sodium than you would expect to get at your local takeout joint. I like to serve this over steamed rice and a vegetable for a complete meal that’ll get a perfect score from your family. Speaking of getting a perfect score, I recently realized that my son has a natural gift for bowling. We were having a family fun day and we decided that bowling would be a great idea. We went through the usual routine of getting checked in and sliding on those awkward bowling shoes, and moved on to play our first family game ever. I took my turn and got two gutter balls in a row, but then when it was my son's turn to go and he got a strike! We thought it was an absolute fluke, but every shot after that, he continued to get strike after strike that ended in a perfect game. We concluded that he was either incredibly lucky, or he had a natural gift to be able to get a perfect score on his first ever time bowling. The whole crowd that day was in an uproar over my son's bowling phenomenon. The owner of the bowling alley even came over and shook my son's hand to congratulate him on his amazing game. The excitement of this event didn’t stop there, he gained a spot on the local news that afternoon and took a photo with the mayor! After all the excitement of this newly found talent, we decided to get some takeout when I got my inspiration for my Sweet Chili Shrimp.
- 1 1/2 lb Shrimp (Peeled, and deveined)
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 3 tsp Fresh Ginger (Peeled and minced finely)
- 3 tsp Garlic (Minced)
- 2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- Jalapeno Slices (Optional)
Add your peeled and deveined shrimp to a bowl and season with salt and pepper, set aside.
Once your shrimp is prepared, prep your remaining ingredients setting aside 1 teaspoon each of your ginger and garlic. Combine your rice vinegar, water, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes in a small sauce pan. Set your heat to medium high heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add your cornstarch and cook an additional minute to allow your sauce to thicken.
Preheat your saute pan to cook your shrimp in to medium high heat and add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Add your reserved ginger and garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant. Add your shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Flip your shrimp and add your sauce to the pan cooking another 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are fully cooked. If using jalapenos, add during the last minute of cooking. Serve immediately over steamed rice.
Thank you for visiting Tall Tales from the Kitchen!