Last Updated on October 6, 2021 by Simon Fan
Gong Bao Shrimp is an offshoot of Gong Bao chicken (also called Kung Pao chicken), one of the most iconic Sichuanese dishes.
With its layered and balanced salty, sweet, and sour flavors, as well as the moderate heat and tingle from chilies and Sichuan pepper, Gong Bao chicken is always a crowd-pleaser. The popularity of this dish has led to the creation of a family of Gong Bao dishes that use a similar combination of spices and seasonings and feature ingredients such as shrimp, scallops, pork, tofu, and mushrooms.
My recipe for Gong Bao shrimp follows closely the one for the original chicken dish (see my post here), pairing the shrimp with peanuts and flavoring them with salt, soy sauce, sugar, Zhenjiang vinegar, and Shaoxing wine, along with dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. The finished dish tastes at once familiar and new—it reminds you of the famous chicken dish, but the smooth, bouncy shrimp create a different mouthfeel and make it a thrilling dish in its own right.
This dish is sometimes called Gong Bao shrimp balls (宫保虾球) because the shrimp curl up beautifully into little balls during cooking. To achieve such effect, make sure you cut a slightly deeper slit along the back of each shrimp (about halfway into the flesh) when you devein it.
Gong Bao shrimp (宫保虾仁)
Serves 2
Ingredients
9 oz (255 g) medium or medium-small peeled shrimp (from about 11¼ oz/320 g unpeeled), deveined
Marinade
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons potato starch or cornstarch
Sauce
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Zhenjiang (aka Chinkiang) vinegar
1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
⅓ cup dried chili peppers (10 g), seeds removed and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, stems and seeds removed
1 scallion, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 oz (60 g) fried or roasted peanuts (see recipe for fried peanuts here)
Directions
- Mix the shrimp with the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and mix well.
- Place a wok or skillet over high heat until hot, then swirl in the oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the shrimp and stir-fry until they have turned pink and are three-quarters cooked, about 45 seconds. Transfer them to a plate. Pour the oil into a heatproof bowl.
- Return 1 tablespoon oil to the wok. Heat the oil over low heat until shimmering, then add the chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Return the shrimp to the wok and add the scallion, ginger, and garlic. Turn up the heat and stir-fry until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 45 seconds.
- Add the well-stirred sauce to the wok, and stir and toss until the sauce has thickened and nicely coats the shrimp, about 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat, mix in the peanuts, and serve right away.
