Easy Szechuan Shrimp, Another Snow Storm, Winter Running is HARD

Don’t think for a minute you can’t make delicious Asian food at home! This dish is as good as any you’ve had as your favorite Asian restaurant or take out….I promise!

My husband LOVED this! And I loved it too since it’s not only delicious, it’s super easy and healthy! And more importantly, in my opinion, perfect after a COLD winter run! I believe my long Run Friday yesterday was possibly my toughest one to date!

Guess how much snow we’ve had so far this month? If you guessed 50 inches you’re damn close….and it’s only February 22. Not only are the roads horrible right now , there wasn’t much room to run due to all the snow. Sorry to those who had to move over to avoid hitting me…..I am happy to report, I made it home safe again!

Traditional Szechuan dishes are often quite spicy, but if you don’t like spice, you can easily cut back by decreasing the red pepper flakes. Or if your taste runs to the incendiary, make yours hotter by adding more….which is what I plan on doing next time I whip this up?. Yes, there will be a next time!

This was actually my runner up dish for our Valentine’s Day dinner last week. Since Rob’s favorite ethnic meal has always been Italian, I made his favorite, a simple red sauce with spaghetti. We had so many incredible pastas while touring around Italy, but sometimes, simple is best.

However, Asian food ranks a close second for the both of us. If you need a not so spicy, but somewhat spicy Asian dish to warm you up on a cold winter night, I have got you covered again!

Seriously my friends…I am still trying to warm up! OMG…Winter running is so hard. I was so tired from my run I plopped right down into a snow bank and laid there for at least five minutes. It was hard to get up oh so but worth it…I was even too exhausted to make a snow angel?.

Ok…enough talk about how I am so over winter this year and lets get cooking! You still with me?

EASY SCECHUAN SHRIMP

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, or more soy sauce, or Hoisin sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Pink Himalayan sea salt
• 3 tablespoon sherry
• 1 onion sliced or chopped
• 3 assorted colored bell peppers cut into 3/4 inch strips or pieces
• 2 cups your choice of grain (rice, quinoa, farro)
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder or other thickener of choice
• 3 tablespoons avocado oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 4 scallions, white part chopped, green tops sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, combine the broth, ketchup, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and 1 tablespoon sherry.
2. Heat a large cast iron skillet or wok over moderately high heat until very hot. Add peppers and stir-fry until starting to blacken, 5 minutes. Remove.
3. Toss the shrimp with the remaining 2 tablespoons sherry and thickener. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in your pan over moderately high heat. Add shrimp and stir-fry until just done, 3 minutes. Remove.
4. Add the remaining oil to your pan. Reduce your heat to medium and add the charred peppers, ginger, garlic, chopped scallions, and the red pepper flakes to your liking. Cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes.
5. Increase the heat to high. Add the broth mixture and boil until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and sliced scallions and just heat through. Drizzle with sesame oil and sever with your choice of grain. I used farro.

What’s you favorite Ethnic dish? Rob’s is Italian. Can you guess mine?

How many inches of snow have you had this month? What’s your favorite season? Any idea what mine is? Hint…it’s not winter?.

Do you have any races coming up? I think this is the longest I have gone without a race on the calendar. I am definitley getting the itch to race?‍♀️.