Szechuan Shrimp is a classic Chinese restaurant dish. A spicy, tangy Szechuan (more accurately spelled, “Sichuan”) sauce packs a ton of strong flavors on top of tender baby shrimp.
Szechuan Shrimp: Background
I remember Szechuan Shrimp was a once popular Chinese restaurant dish. It was second only perhaps to that American takeout standby, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce.
I believe it was during the transformation of the traditional Chinese restaurant menu—formerly predominantly Cantonese—to the much trendier and now mainstream style of Szechuan cooking.
This dish is also a bit of a throwback to the days when “Sichuan” was spelled “Szechuan” pretty much exclusively, and known more as a label for a specific Chinese American dish than as an entire province of China’s style of cooking!
These days, authentic Sichuan-style cooking is all the rage in Chinese restaurants with dishes like Mapo Tofu, Twice-cooked Pork, and Sichuan Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu).
That said, Szechuan Shrimp is still holding its own, because despite its less than authentic provenance, it’s still really tasty.
Tender shrimp is covered in a concentrated spicy sauce with shallots, peppers, and delightfully nutty water chestnuts. It’s a perfectly orchestrated blend and really makes this dish unique.
Recipe Notes
If you’re not a fan of the crunchy texture of water chestnuts, feel free to leave them out. I also kicked the recipe up slightly by using douban la jiang (chili bean sauce), instead of the usual dried chili flakes.
If you can’t find chili bean sauce online or at your local Asian grocery store, Kaitlin’s hot chili oil is a great substitution.
Speaking of substitutions, the red bell peppers add a nice sweet flavor to the dish. If you really like spicy food, use red Holland, Anaheim, or even super spicy Thai chili peppers.
Enjoy this Szechuan Shrimp with a nice bowl of jasmine rice!
Recipe Instructions
Mix the shrimp together with 1 teaspoon of oil and ½ teaspoon of cornstarch until they’re evenly coated. Set aside.
With the burner on low, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in your wok. Add the ginger and fry for 30 seconds.
Next, add the doubanjiang (chili bean sauce) or the hot chili oil (with chili flakes), the garlic, and the shallots, and continue to stir fry for another 2 minutes.
Next, stir in the ketchup and hoisin sauce, and turn the heat up from low to medium.
Let the ketchup and hoisin sauce fry for 1 to 2 minutes to bring out a rich color and flavor. Turn the heat down if it looks like the sauce may burn.
Next, add the Shaoxing wine, water chestnuts (if using), carrots, and the red bell pepper. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, and let the mixture come to a boil; then immediately turn the heat down to let the mixture simmer.
Add the rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, sugar and white pepper, and continue to simmer the sauce for another 3 minutes. When 3 minutes have elapsed, turn the heat up slightly and stir in the shrimp.
Once the shrimp and sauce mixture returns to a steady simmer, stir in the cornstarch slurry until the sauce has thickened. At this point, the shrimp should be opaque and cooked through.
Stir in the scallions.
Serve this spicy Szechuan shrimp with steamed rice!
Szechuan Shrimp, A Classic Chinese Restaurant Dish
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp (450g, size 50/60, peeled and de-veined)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (plus 2 tablespoons, divided)
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ginger (minced)
- 2 teaspoons doubanjiang (chili bean sauce) (or chili oil (NOTE: the chili oil should have flakes in it)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup shallots or red onion (minced)
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ cup water chestnuts (chopped, optional)
- 1 medium carrot (very finely chopped)
- ½ red bell pepper (diced)
- 1 cup chicken stock (120 ml)
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 2 tablespoons of water)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Mix the shrimp together with 1 teaspoon of oil and ½ teaspoon of cornstarch until the shrimp are evenly coated. Set aside.
- With the burner on low, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in your wok. Add the ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Next, add the douban jiang or the hot chili oil (with chili flakes), the garlic, and the shallots, and continue to stir fry for another 2 minutes.
- Next, stir in the ketchup and hoisin sauce, and turn the heat up from low to medium. Let the ketchup and hoisin sauce fry for 1 to 2 minutes to bring out a rich color and flavor. Turn the heat down if it looks like the sauce may burn.
- Next, add the Shaoxing wine, water chestnuts (if using), and the red bell pepper. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, and let the mixture come to a boil; then immediately turn the heat down to let the mixture simmer.
- Add the rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, sugar and white pepper, and continue to simmer the sauce for another 3 minutes. When 3 minutes have elapsed, turn the heat up slightly and stir in the shrimp.
- Once the shrimp and sauce mixture returns to a steady simmer, stir in the cornstarch slurry until the sauce has thickened. At this point, the shrimp should be opaque and cooked through. Stir in the scallions. Serve with steamed rice!
I have a hard time now going to Chinese restaurant. I think this recipe is better. I could not find Hoisin sauce so I took miso paste and mixed it with molasses.
So glad you enjoyed it, Eugene.
Hi! my understanding is that the shrimp going in are uncooked – is that right? I bought them frozen and am thawing them now. Thank you!
Hi Amanda, yes, correct – raw shrimp.
Excellent dish! The sauce was delicious. One thing about the recipe: the carrots should go in the wok with the bell peppers?
That’s correct, Cynthia.
Please change instructions because I almost missed it.
It would be nice to correct that in the directions–where what to do with the carrots is not mentioned?
We will correct it. Thank you for letting us know.
Woops forgot the stars
Wonderful dish! Great flavor. Your site has become my go to site for Chinese dishes. Thanks for all the good recipes.
You’re welcome Donna!
I made this tonight and we finished every bit. The water chestnuts give it a great crunch, and it had just the right amount of heat and spice. I added some mushrooms to the carrots and carrots and the flavour is fantastic. Thank you for another wonderful recipe from Woks for Life.
Hi Harvey, thanks for sharing your comment and happy to hear you enjoyed this dish!
This was delicious. Threw the carrot in with the shallots & garlic as I couldn’t see where else it was to go and added some Szechuan peppercorns as I am addicted to them.
Hi Emptyjohn, great job and glad you liked it!
Made this last night, completing my quadfecta of trying one recipe from everyone in the family!
Really nice and flavorful, even though I was using frozen shrimp! The sauce is incredible with rice, each spoon is a truly, deeply satisfying experience. Strong recommend from me.
Thanks Sergei, glad you enjoyed this shrimp dish!
What kind of ketchup? Chilli ketchup or tomato ketchup?
Hi Bryan, you can use either, but the recipe was intended to use tomato ketchup.