Good morning again all

Welcome.

It’s Oscar Sunday, Selection Sunday, final round of the Player’s Championship and the semi-finals get started in the World Baseball Classic. That’s one hell of a Sunday line-up for you.

Got a pretty fun one for you today. Hope you’ve all noticed how we’ve been alternating our choice of proteins on Sunday Gravy this year. I figured we could change things up now and then rather than say, give you an entire season of meatball recipes.

Holy shit! That sounds fantastic actually!

Don’t worry, got a feeling you’ll be seeing some meatballs real soon.

This recipe features the perfect combination of ease of preparation and deliciousness of results. It’s also not too much of a bastard on the wallet either.

Since we’re going to be doing the “quick and easy” route today I figured I can also do a random “Store bought” product review. Something I’ll try to keep as a recurring feature as we work through season 12 of Sunday Gravy.

Today we are making Asian chili garlic shrimp. A lovely sweet and spicy shrimp dish in a deliciously sticky, tangy sauce.

The recipe source will be no surprise, it’s another visit to RecipeTinEats.com and chef Nagi. She’s the best, really. Again, I can’t give her and her site enough food props. 

Ready to get after this thing?

Away we go.

Asian Chili Garlic Shrimp!

1 lb shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola)

1 tsp sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, very finely minced

2 tsp ginger finely chopped

1 tsp chili flakes (red pepper flakes)

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp Sriracha

2 tsp soy sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

Garnish ideas (optional) – sesame seeds or green onions, finely chopped

We begin.

Please note that we’re really using raw shrimp this time.

Rinse, drain and dry the shrimp. Also want to be sure they’re at room temperature if they’ve been previously frozen.

One of my basic rules of thumb when preparing seafood is, buy it “Day of.” Don’t let this hang out in the fridge overnight. You’re not doing a single fucking person any favors by doing that. Get your ass up early and hope the butcher counter at the grocery store is open and stocked.

Assemble the remaining roster of the pantry ingredients.

We will start as we usually do by mincing up the ginger and garlic, followed with the chopping of the green onions.

This is part of that whole stir fry prep thing we talk about whenever we’re doing an Asian wok style dish that comes together really fast. You regular readers have seen this before.

We’ll be serving our main dish over some plain white rice today. I figured we could also use a little something extra to round out the meal and well, goddammit I’m being lazy, remember?

Some egg rolls might be a nice little crunchy bite to serve alongside our shrimp but I’ve already made egg rolls from scratch and it’s some serious fucking effort.

-seen here –

Brass tax?

I’m like 12 seasons older, so I came up with the idea of “Random Store Bought Product Reviews!”

You know, maybe we can bring in a store bought side dish now and then and bash the shit out of it if the product sucks? That sounds like fun doesn’t it?

Work with me here, dammit!

Let’s bring on our first victim product!

Oh this has potential alright. And why the fuck are they “Mini?” Can’t make a tasty full size frozen egg roll P.F. Chang’s? That’s what you’re telling us here?

When researching store bought egg rolls I found a common theme.

Most of them aren’t very good.

The higher rated egg rolls usually had a protein in them.  The majority of the time that protein was chicken, so there we go. My logic for this particular choice.

Get them on a baking sheet and follow the cooking instructions.

I’m assuming since you’re here and reading Sunday Gravy you shouldn’t have any issues following directions to make some goddamn egg rolls.

Get those egg rolls in the oven and let’s make our dish. This should be a good indicator of how fast the main dish comes together.

Now that I think about it better get your rice started too.

Your ass is on your own with the rice making, sorry.

Cook the shrimp in a pre-heated oiled skillet over medium heat for about 45 seconds or so per side. If you own a wok this would be the perfect time to break that fucker out.

Give a flip.

See? Just long enough to cook the pink out of them.

Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside for a moment.

Let the pan cool for a brief bit then, turn the flame up to high. After the skillet/wok has been heated back up, add in the sesame oil. When the oil starts to get a little smoky it’s time to sauté the chili flakes, ginger and garlic until it gets aromatic as a motherfucker.

This is one of those smells that you’ll remember for life. You’re neighbors will too.

Cook for just a minute or so and then we can start building the sauce.

Chef Nagi says: “Add the water, then Sriracha, soy sauce and sugar, Stir, increase heat to medium high, and let it simmer for 3 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken to a thin syrup consistency.”

Thanks, Chef!

Let the sauce thicken then add the shrimp back in.

While the shrimp finish better get your egg rolls out of the oven.

Those seem crispy enough. The egg rolls also come with a dipping sauce. I think it was supposed to be a sweet and sour sauce but it came across as a packet of apple sauce. I don’t recommend dunking an egg roll in some fucking applesauce.

Serve the shrimp over white rice and grab a few egg rolls.

Garnish with the chopped green onion.

A closer look.

Let’s go ahead and address the egg rolls first. They are perfectly mediocre. It’s got a decent balance of cabbage, carrot, chicken etc and it’s seasoned pretty well but it’s just not the same as when you get an egg roll hot and fresh at a restaurant.

A couple of weeks ago I visited my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant – story at a later date – and when you bite into one of their hot egg rolls the wrapper almost shatters from crispiness. Little fried bits of egg roll randomly fly round the table, you burn your mouth from the heat a little bit and they are fucking fantastic.

These are NOT that.

They’re fine for a little “Bite of something”, especially for a meal like this. Just don’t expect to be dazzled by them. That dipping sauce was an abomination though. I think it really was fucking applesauce. Texture was completely off-putting.

Anyway.

This shit ain’t about the crappy frozen egg roll. THIS shit is about the hot, crispy, sizzling bite of shrimp in that gorgeous sauce.

A word of warning. You can hurt yourself with this dish. It lends itself to MASS consumption. Fucking hell is that good. Spicy, tangy, sweet, salty.

Please take note: these have a legitimate spice kick to them. Not too much, just enough to make you want to dive in for more.

This shrimp is EVERYTHING. Rice was the perfect accompaniment too.

Shit, fried rice would probably be even better. I’mma do that shit next time I make this.

Quick? Check. Delicious? Check. Most of the ingredients in the pantry already? Check the fuck out of that! Repeatable? Motherfucking CHECK!

This one will be repeated.

Fun Holidays for Sunday March 15th courtesy of  A Bit of Good News – “March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day, World Essential Workers Day, World Sleep Day, National Peanut Lovers Day and National Pears Helene Day.”

Holy fuck! That’s me! I’m a peanut lover! I know just how to celebrate too.

Enjoy your Sunday and enjoy the Oscars! I’ll be watching.

Until next week…