Getting ready to pick up the phone and order takeout tonight? Think again! Instead, make this delicious shrimp and veggie Chinese stir-fry from scratch in less than 30-minutes.
To Get Started:
Get your rice cooking (if you’re including rice in this dish) before you start the prep process. Just pour 1 part dry rice to 2 part water with 1 teaspoon of salt into a medium pot. Bring the pot to a boil, then drop the heat to low and cover with a lid. Allow the rice to simmer for 15 minutes or until all of the water has absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork and remove it from the heat. In this recipe I used white Jasmine rice.
In the meantime, you can start prepping your vegetables. I used onion, red bell pepper, string beans and broccoli, but feel free to use whatever vegetables you have laying around at home. Clean and dry the veggies, and then chop them into equal, bite-size pieces. Set aside.
You can use fresh shrimp, but I recommend just buying a bag of frozen shrimp and thaw them in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. If you don’t care for shrimp, it is easy to swap this out with any other protein source, like chicken, beef or pork, but just make sure to dice it into equal size cubes.
Make the Sauce:
Every good Chinese food dish has the perfect sauce to go along with it. In a medium mixing bowl, simply mix together low-sodium soy sauce (or tamari if you are following a gluten-free diet), sesame oil, brown sugar, minced garlic and ginger, broth and red pepper flakes. For extra flavor, you can add a touch of hoisin sauce to the mix, but keep in mind this is typically not gluten-free.
Stir-fry Magic:
In a large saute pan, add oil to medium heat. Then, toss in the thawed shrimp and cook on both sides until lightly browned. Set aside.
Add a bit more oil to the pan and add in the vegetables. Start with the onion and bell peppers as they take the longest to soften. After a few minutes, add in the broccoli and string beans.
After a few minutes, pour the sauce over the veggies and then toss in the cooked shrimp. Allow the ingredients to simmer together on low heat for at least 5-minutes while continuously stirring. The sauce will thicken.
Plate it Like a Pro:
Now for the grand finale…plating. Take a 1-cup measure and stuff it with the cooked rice. Flip the cup over onto the plate to make the perfect rice-mound.
Next, chop up a green onion and toss it over the cooked Chinese stir-fry. Pour the finished dish onto the plate next to the rice. Show it off to your friends and family and you’ll have them running back for more each week!
Nutrition Facts
This recipe makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 356 calories, 47g carb, 19g protein, 9g fat, 3g fiber
- 1 cup dry rice*
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce**
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 to 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (optional)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 to tablespoons oil (for sauteing)
- 1/2 pound of raw shrimp
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 bell pepper, large dice
- 1 cup string beans, trimmed and halved
- 1/2 onion, large dice
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Make the sauce by combining the soy sauce (or tamari), sesame oil, hoisin sauce (optional), sugar, garlic, ginger, broth and red pepper. Set aside.
- In a large saute pan, heat half of the oil to medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook until lightly browned on each side. Set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the vegetables until tender. Then, toss in the cooked shrimp and the sauce and mix until well combined.
- Drop the heat to a simmer and stir for about 5-minutes.
- Garnish with green onions and plate with 1/2 cup of cooked rice.
- *Cook rice according to package directions.
- **Use tamari sauce to make this recipe gluten-free
- Per serving: 356 calories, 47g carb, 19g protein, 9g fat, 3g fiber