Sixteen ingredients and thirty-five minutes, and the wok work is under fifteen.
The sauce is mixed before the heat goes on, because once a wok is hot there is no time to measure anything.
Why This Recipe Works
- Whisking the sauce first means it can go in as one pour when the moment comes.
- Peppers stir-fried before the shrimp keep their strips bright and crisp-tender.
- Twenty seconds of garlic and ginger is enough before liquid arrives.
- Shrimp added at nearly opaque finish in the sauce rather than overcooking.
- Peanuts folded in at the end stay whole and crisp instead of softening.
Ingredient Notes
- Roasted unsalted peanuts
- Half a cup, whole and folded in at the end. Whole rather than chopped, and visible throughout the finished bowl.
- Red and green bell peppers
- One of each, sliced into strips. Neither is named in the title and both are clearly there in the bowl.
- Chinkiang or rice vinegar
- A tablespoon. Sharp against a tablespoon and a half of brown sugar — that pairing is the spicy-sweet in the name.
- White rice
- Four cups cooked, served with it. Part of the serving rather than an optional side.
How to Make It
The sauce whisked before anything is hot
Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, chilli-garlic sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch slurry.
Peppers crisp-tender, then twenty seconds of aromatics
Heat oil in a wok and stir-fry peppers until crisp-tender. Add garlic and ginger for 20 seconds.
Shrimp to nearly opaque, then the sauce
Add shrimp and cook until nearly opaque, then pour in the sauce and toss until glossy and red-brown.
Peanuts and scallions folded in at the end
Fold in peanuts and scallions and cook just until the shrimp is fully pearly and opaque.
Sesame, rice — and no dried chillies
Finish with sesame seeds and serve with white rice. Do not add whole dried chillies.
Fifteen Minutes, and the Order Is Fixed
A hot wok gives you no time to think, so this recipe front-loads all of it. Every rung below has a reason it comes where it does - and the last one is a refusal, because the name of the dish raises a question.
Whisk the sauce BEFORE any heatBefore the burner is lit
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp Chinkiang or rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp CHILLI-GARLIC SAUCE, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil and 1 tsp of cornstarch slaked in 1 tbsp water, all whisked together and standing ready. Six things is too many to measure over a lit wok. The sugar-to-vinegar pairing here IS the spicy-sweet in the name, and the chilli-garlic sauce is where all the heat comes from - which matters for the last rung.
Peppers FIRST, crisp-tenderUntil crisp-tender
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, SLICED, stir-fried in 1 tbsp of oil until CRISP-TENDER. They go before the shrimp because they need the longer cook of the two, and because peppers added later would steam in an already-wet pan. Both are visible components the title never names, and they are cut into strips.
Garlic and ginger, TWENTY seconds20 seconds
2 cloves minced and 1 tsp grated ginger. Twenty seconds in a very hot wok is the whole window - long enough to bloom, short enough not to catch, and the shrimp arriving next is what ends it.
Shrimp to NEARLY opaque, then the sauceUntil glossy and red-brown
1 lb of large shrimp cooked until NEARLY opaque, then the whisked sauce poured in and tossed UNTIL GLOSSY AND RED-BROWN. Nearly is doing work: the shrimp still have to finish in the sauce, and cooking them through first would leave them rubbery by the time the glaze thickened. The cornstarch was already in the sauce mixture, so the thickening happens in seconds rather than as a separate step.
Peanuts and scallions LAST - and no dried chilliesFully pearly and opaque
1/2 cup of WHOLE roasted unsalted peanuts and 3 sliced scallions folded in, cooked JUST UNTIL THE SHRIMP IS FULLY PEARLY AND OPAQUE - that is doneness. Peanuts last and whole: any earlier and they soften in the sauce, and you want whole peanuts visible throughout. Then 2 tsp sesame seeds and 4 cups of white rice alongside. And the refusal: NO WHOLE DRIED CHILLIES. The dish's name suggests them, but they are left out here. The heat is already in the glaze.
Success Tips
- Whisk the sauce and have it beside the wok before you light the burner.
- Slice the peppers evenly so the strips finish together.
- Fold the peanuts in right at the end; any longer in the sauce and they soften.
Serving Ideas
Four servings in white bowls, the glazed whole shrimp in a glossy red-brown sauce with whole peanuts, red and green pepper strips, sliced spring onion and sesame seeds, with white rice at the back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I add whole dried chillies?
No — step 5 rules them out. The heat here comes from a tablespoon of chilli-garlic sauce worked into the glaze.
Why add the peanuts last?
So they stay whole and crisp. Peanuts stirred in early sit in the sauce and lose their snap.
Is the rice part of the dish?
Yes — white rice is part of the serving here, and four cups of it are in the ingredient list.
