When Liz asked me to create this recipe for her blog, I called my grandmother and she gave me her recipe. Because of the pandemic, the last time I was home was the summer of 2019. I miss my grandma’s cooking, but this recipe reminds me of home. So I adapted the recipe to make it simple for my kitchen and yours.
Ingredients
One 1-pound bag frozen raw large peeled and deveined shrimp (31 to 40 count)
2½ tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup ketchup
1¼ cups water
3 tablespoons organic canola oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic (from 6 to 8 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
One 12-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and well-drained
2 cups cooked rice of your choice (sushi rice, brown rice, or jasmine rice)
2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds, optional for garnish
Instructions
Defrost the shrimp, drain, and pat dry with paper towels until the shrimp are very dry. (The frozen shrimp I bought had the tail still on, so I removed the tails after the shrimp thawed.)
Place the cornstarch in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and toss until the shrimp are well coated.
In another bowl, whisk together the ketchup and water. Set aside for later use. (I used regular Heinz ketchup, so no need to add any more sugar or salt. Besides, shrimp are from the sea and salty already!)
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Turn the heat down to low, add the shrimp, and cook, turning once, until the shrimp are golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Stir in the vegetables and cook for 1 minute.
Pour the ketchup-water mixture into the pan, bring it to a fierce boil under medium-high or high heat to thicken the sauce in 1 minute or so. Serve with steamed rice and garnish with green onions as desired.
Notes
I used a rice steamer to cook ⅔ cup of sushi rice mixed with ⅔ cup of Quaker old fashioned oats and ¾ cup water(1:1 rice and water ratio). This will give you approximately 4 servings (1 cup of cooked rice per person). Oats are a whole grain that have more fiber than refined grains such as white rice.