General Tso's Shrimp

General Tso was a Chinese General way back in the day. We're not here to read about him... or his chicken. Today we're going to discuss General Tso's Shrimp. Yes, that's right, shrimp. It's yummy, believe me, and yes, it also causes the same painful side effects that the chicken does.

As we all may or may not know, General Tso's Chicken became the main stable of Chinese-American cuisine soon after its introduction in the 1970's. It can be assumed then, that the shrimp variant was introduced soon after the chicken's ungodly, yet well deserved, success story. the shrimp also looks and tastes just like the chicken, except its shrimp, not chicken. Understand?

General Tso's Shrimp can be purchased at upscale Chinese Restraunts or the better take out places. Would you want to trust the shrimp from that shady place on the corner anyway? I don't care if José the Chinese Chef is also your pharmicist, it's not a good place to buy quality food. No, not even if they have the best cocaine fried rice in town.

If you're unwilling to shell out the $8.95 it takes to buy this dish, or you're trying to impress that certain someone, or just like to create fires in your kitchen that shouldn't happen, then here are a few recipes for you:

Recipe #1: from http://www.kahiki.com/recipe_p3.html

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Kahiki General Tso's Sauce™
• 1 lb. Peeled and deveined shrimp, 21-25 count
• 3 cups Asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 2" pieces
• 1/2 cup Roughly chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp. Chinese black beans, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup Cornstarch

Shrimp Marinade

• 1 lg. Egg white
• 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
• 2 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. White sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp. Black sesame seeds

Cooking Instructions

1. Whisk egg white, cornstarch, rice wine and salt until smooth paste is achieved. Add black and white sesame seeds. Add shrimp and toss to coat evenly. Marinade for 15 to 30 minutes.

2. Drain shrimp of any excess marinade and toss with the 1/2 c. cornstarch. Dust off excess cornstarch and discard. Deep fry shrimp until crispy. Drain well on absorbent paper and arrange around the perimeter of the serving platter.

3. Using a wok or large sauté pan, coat with oil. Heat on high until oil begins to smoke, approximately one to two minutes.

4. Add black beans, asparagus and bell peppers. Stir-fry lightly until cooked.

5. While continuing to stir-fry, slowly add Kahiki General Tso's Sauce™ to coat ingredients. Add cilantro.

6. Transfer this mixture to the center of the serving platter, or scallions.

Yield: 5 servings as part of a multi-course meal.

Recipe #2: derived from http://www.echonyc.com/~erich/tso.htm

Ingredients

• 1- 1 1/2 lbs. peeled Shrimp
• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup Distilled white vinegar
• 1 cl Garlic; minced
• 1 ts Ginger root; Peeled & minced
• 1 ts Cornstarch
• 1 lg Egg; beaten lightly
• 1/3 cup Corn Oil
• 4 Dried hot chilis; seeded (aka Peppers of death)

Instructions

1. In a bowl combine the soy sauce, vinegar, 1/2 c water, the garlic and ginger root.

2. In another bowl, combine the egg and cornstarch and dip the shrimp. Heat the oil in a wok or deep, heavy skillet until very hot, add the shrimp and fry it for 4 to 6 minutes, or until it is crisp. Transfer the shrimp with tongs to paper towels to drain and pour off all but 1 T of the oil from the wok. Add the soy sauce mixture, the chili peppers and the chicken and cook the mixture over moderately high heat for 2 minutes, or until heated through.

3. Transfer it to a heated serving dish. Serves 4.

Use your own discretions when choosing which recipe to use. I am a poor college student and can't afford decent notebooks let alone the ingredients needed for the recipies, so I haven't tried them. I just get my Chinese food from either this place called Panda or this place across the street from Panda called Danny's. You can probably pick up Kahiki sauces at your local grocery or specialties store. General Tso's shrimp is best served with white or wild rice with an egg or shrimp roll on the side. I suggest doing so. The first recipe leaves out peppers of death, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your personal preference/death wish. The shrimp is also replacable with almost any meat, chicken, for example. Other General Tso's variations you may want to try are beef, lobster, duck, pork, venison, or even tofu, depending on what you like. For you Aussies, the echonyc.com site suggests kangaroo, and for everyone whose sister is their mother, squirrel is also advised.