Whenever I’m looking to make a fast and easy dinner I turn to seafood. It cooks up in a flash and takes on flavours well. Shrimp is one of my go-to seafoods, if only because I usually have frozen shrimp in the fridge. It’s a habit that probably comes from my mom – she often stocks up on big boxes of frozen shrimp when they’re on sale. Now, that I have my own freezer, I find myself doing the same. Of course, sometimes my mom stocks up on shrimp for me too – thanks mom!
These spicy salt and pepper shrimp are perfect for demonstrating that you don’t need a lot of ingredients to get a lot of flavour. Like most Chinese stir-fry, you’ve got your usual suspects: garlic, salt and two kinds of pepper. If you don’t have white pepper, don’t worry about it, but a lot of Chinese food uses white pepper as a flavouring and it’s fairly distinctive tasting: sharper, yet more delicate at the same time. I added in some diced jalapeños for a bit of spice and finished it off with some sliced green onions. These guys, a big bowl of fluffy white rice, some simple greens, and I’m a happy camper!
Crispy Salt and Pepper Shrimp Recipe
serves 2
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, diced, seeds removed if desired
- 1-2 stalks green onion, sliced
- grain of choice, to serve
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. In bowl, toss the shrimp, cornstarch, white & black pepper and salt together. Heat up a bit of oil in a heavy bottomed skilled over medium heat. Add the garlic, 1/2 of the jalapeños and 1/2 of the green onions. Cook, stirring, until crisp and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the coated shrimp and cook, until pink and firm, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and toss with the remaining jalapeños and green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and enjoy hot with your grain of choice. I usually serve this with lots of fluffy white rice and a simple stir-fried vegetable dish.
oh, yum! it’s incredible how flavourful a simple stir-fry can be– I was in a hurry and found myself sautéeing whatever I had in the fridge, and it was so, so, good. Reminds me that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated at all.
your shrimp is stunning, makes me want to eat it right off the screen.
I’m such a sucker for shrimp – and these look fantastic! I’m afraid it would be a waste for me to cook rice… these shrimp would have magically disappeared by the time the rice is cooked! :P
Look amazing! Makes me sad fresh prawns are so expensive here!
So gorgeous! I want to make these right now!
One of freeze staples is frozen shrimp. I would normally use it to make deep fried corm meal covered shrimp as a quick meal with mayo but I could definitely get a healthier version for noodles! Mouthwatering!
This looks scrumptious; I bet a dash of crushed chile flakes would be nice! I love the simplicity, and I agree with Myriam above; I would likely eat them all before rice had time to cook :-)
This looks delicious! I have shrimp in my freezer right now!
Spicy and salty? I am so in! This look awesome!
salt and pepper shriiiiiiiimp <3<3<3
Oh, I love the sound of this! Delicious!