Boldly flavored, pungent and spicy Szechuan shrimp is one of my top 5 Asian dishes that I like eating out or making at home. It may come as a surprise, but this delicious dish can be easily prepared at home in 25 minutes or less from start to finish, and the level of spiciness can be adjusted to suit your taste.
Recently I’ve been noticing more and more Asian restaurants adopting Szechuan (Sichuan) style of cooking. What used to be a single Szechuan dish on a menu now is a trend. A very welcome trend I must add. Szechuan cuisine is one of my favorite Asian cuisines. I like its characteristic bold flavors, pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and hot chili peppers, as well as the unique flavor of the Sichuan pepper. Sichuan pepper is what defines Szechuan food. I recently attempted Szechuan chicken – it was an instant hit! So much that I made it half a dozen times shortly afterwards. This time around I am recreating Szechuan shrimp which I tried at a local Asian restaurant and immediately fell in love with.
The Szechuan shrimp dish that I tried at the restaurant was served with bowl of jasmine rice – a great combination if you ask me. And you can do that too. In this recipe, however, I am going for a lighter, heather version of the dish which substitutes rice for fresh vegetables. I like how the sweetness and tang of the bell peppers enhance the shrimp sauce flavor, while the crunchy, delicate texture of the broccoli complements the texture of the shrimp.
