This recipe is truly one of the fastest dinners that I have made. I would say that the rice takes longer to cook than the actual dish itself! When we first had this meal, Joe requested something “simple”, and then when we ate it he said “it’s just like Chinese take out”. Now, I am still unsure whether that is a positive but it was devoured very quickly – so i’ll take it!
I have been making this with just broccoli and it is great, but the other night we decided to add some thinly sliced carrots, which worked pretty nicely and still maintained the simpleness of the bowl but added some more color! Chef’s choice – but I would avoid adding stronger vegetables like mushrooms or peppers would really change the simple taste of this dish.
You can also certainly make this dish with any other protein, but the fact that shrimp cooks so fast is what creates the true ease around this recipe.
Shrimp “Take-out” Bowl
Difficulty: Easy2
servings15
minutes15
minutesThis recipe is for 8 shrimp/person, but you can certainly make as many as you want just adjust the seasoning, and amount of broccoli is subjective too!
Ingredients
16 Peeled and deveined large shrimp
1-2 crowns of Broccoli
1 medium carrot (optional)
1 tablespoon of olive oil + some for cooking
2-3 cloves of garlic (~1 tablespoon chopped)
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
low sodium soy sauce
1-2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
2 medium scallions
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon water
- Jasmine rice to serve dish over (optional)
Directions
- Prepare vegetables: cut broccoli into bite sized florets, finely chop the garlic (~1 tbsp), chop scallions and separate whites from greens. If adding carrots, slice very thin – I used my simple mandolin. And for the rest of the recipe just incorporate “and carrots” after broccoli instructions. 🙂
- Prepare shrimp: remove tails and pat shrimp dry, add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, about 1/4 of the chopped garlic, 1 tsp ginger power, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) – mix to coat and set aside.
- Heat pan over medium heat (I used stainless pan), drizzle some olive oil and add the broccoli (and carrots). Allow to cook uncovered for ~3 minutes or until it seems to be getting charred. Add 1/2 tsp of soy sauce and water, and cover pan to allow to steam and cook. Check and mix occasionally until fully cooked (~5 minutes).
- While broccoli is cooking add 1 tbsp of water to 1 tbsp corn starch, mix well and set aside.
- Remove broccoli from heat into a separate bowl and set aside
- Add another drizzle of olive oil to the same pan and add the seasoned shrimp + all the seasoning to the pan and arrange in a single layer.
- Cook shrimp for 2 minutes on each side. They may start sicking to the pan this is okay.
- Add some of the chicken stock to deglaze the pan and scrape up anything stuck to the pan mixing with the shrimp. Add back in the broccoli, remaining chopped garlic, scallion whites, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) – mix to combine and let cook together for 1-2 minutes.
- Add to the pan 1 cup chicken stock, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tsp brown sugar – tilt pan to pool and mix sauce to ensure the brown sugar is well incorporated.
Remember, the brown sugar balances the soy sauce, so you can adjust based on taste preference
Tip: In a pinch you can substitute water for the stock in this recipe- it will taste a little “thinner” but it will work. You may find yourself wanting a touch more soy sauce in this case- but be careful as a little goes a long way! - Add cornstarch slurry to the pan 1 teaspoon at a time. Re-mix your cornstarch mixture it is likely to have separated. Every time you add the corn starch tilt the pan to pool the sauce, add the tsp of cornstarch as mix immediately to avoid any clumping, then mix through the whole dish. Continue until you have used all the corn starch or the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
- Prepare bowls with jasmine rice and serve dish hot over the rice – garnish with scallion greens. (or enjoy without the rice!)