Spicy Salt and Pepper Shrimp Ramen
This one is a fusion between staple Sichuan Spicy Salt and Pepper Shrimp and Japanese Ramen, married by stir fry. All I gotta say is try it, you will love it!
Without further due, here is how to make it:
Ingredients:
1 lb headless shrimp, peeled and de-veined
3 green onions, white and pale part thinly sliced, green part cut into half-inch sections
1 knob of fresh ginger, thinly sliced then cut into thin strips
about 10 dried chili, cut into half-inch pieces using a pair of scissors, keep seeds
Optional: about 2 fresh Thai birds eye chilies, if you like extra spicy
2 servings of fresh Japanese Ramen noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
6 TBSP soy sauce, divided
1 TBSP Chinese cooking wine (or use chicken stock if you prefer alcohol free cooking)
1/4 cup of plain all purpose flour
about 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
about 1 tsp Sichuan pepper corn, freshly ground after toasting
Method:
Combine 2 TBSP soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil with cleaned shrimp in a small bowl, set aside let marinade for a few minutes. Mean while, prepare ginger, green onions, chilies, and boil a large pot of water for Ramen noodles.
Heat up about 2 TBSP vegetable oil in a large pan on medium high. Put all purpose flour into a small bowl, coat each shrimp in flour and shake off excess flour. Carefully fry shrimps on both sides for about 1 minute. This gives the final dish a nice crust on the shrimps and a thick sauce to coat the noodles. Don’t over crowd the pan, shrimps will stuck together otherwise. Fry them in batches if needed. Set the fried shrimp aside. Don’t worry about if they are cooked all the way through, there will be more cooking of shrimps later on.
Add another TBSP or 2 of oil into the pan, after removing all shrimps. Heat up oil and in goes thinly sliced green onion white and pale parts, ginger and chilies. Move them around and give them about 30 seconds to a minute to become fragrant.
While large pot of water is boiling, add fresh Ramen noodles into pot and quickly move the noodles around so they don’t stick together. This happens VERY quickly, literally 30 seconds is enough. Drain noodles right away, otherwise the noodles will get very soft and soggy in stir fry process. No need for ice water bath, because it will go into the large pan shortly.
In goes remaining soy sauce and cooking wine. Mix well. Add shrimps back in. Immediately add salt and ground Sichuan pepper corn and sugar. Mix well. Sauce will thicken quite quickly. Add cooked Ramen into the pan with the shrimps. Add all but a few green part of the green onions into the pan. Save the last bit for final garnish.
Use 2 spoons or spatulas, move noodles around, and very well mix with shrimps and soak up all the yummy juices and sauces. Dish up, top with last bit of green onions and enjoy!
