I mentioned in the video (see below) on YouTube, this dish takes me back to being ah lil fella on the islands. There was a Chinese restaurant on Mucurapo street in San Fernando Trinidad, where our dad would always take my brother and I after the afternoon show (movie theatre – usually western or Kung Fu movies) on Saturdays. As kids we’d get the Chicken version of this dish, however we did ‘sample’ from dad’s plate.
You’ll Need…
3 lbs med shrimp (21-30)
3 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
veg oil for frying (about 2-3 cups)
1 large onion (cut large)
1 large bell pepper (cut large)
3 scallions (cut 3/4 inch pieces)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoon white sugar
3 tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1-2 tablespoon pineapple juice | 1 small can Pineapple rings (cut into pieces)
3/4 tablespoon dark soy sauce
Notes. Please refer to the video below in the event you have any questions which were not addressed in this post. Should you want this spicy, you may add your fav peppersauce (hot sauce) or fresh chopped hot peppers. I did add fresh chopped scallions (not mentioned in the recipe list) at the end as I turned off the stove
I left the tails on the shrimp, but it’s your choice. Peeled and deveined, the shrimp where washed with the juice of a lemon and cool water then drained. They were mixed with the black pepper, salt and corn starch to coat.
In another bowl I mixed the sweet and sour sauce. Add the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, grated ginger, dark soy sauce and pineapple juice (I used canned pineapple which I chopped and I reserved some of the juice/syrup from the can).
Set the sauce aside and lets get back to the shrimp. Heat about 2-3 cups of vegetable oil in a wok (any post or pan with high sides will work) on a medium/high heat. Individually add the shrimp to the hot oil and fry for one minute to a minute and a half. Remove and place on paper towels to soak up the excess oil. I did this in batches to not crowd the wok.
I drained and filtered my oil for frying fish at a later date, but I did reserve a tablespoon or so to continue.
With my wok back on a medium flame (with the tablespoon of oil), I added the onion and bell pepper. Cooked it for 3-4 minutes (toss to cook evenly), then add the scallions and stir.
Cook for another minute, then add the pineapple chunks (use fresh pineapple if you so prefer) to the wok and cook for a further 2 minutes before adding the sweet and sour sauce we created earlier.
Heat the sauce through as it combined with the flavors of the bell pepper and onion… about 2 minutes, then add the pre-fried shrimp to the pot and stir well to coat with the sauce.
As soon as the shrimp heats though (2-3 minutes), shut off the stove as I’d hate for you to over-cook the shrimp. While we did season the shrimp with salt, you will need to taste and adjust the salt at the end to your liking. I’ve been trying my best to cut back on my sodium intake, so I didn’t add any to the onion and peppers at the start.
The corn starch we coated the shrimp with at the start will allow for the sweet and sour sauce to stick to the shrimp, thus giving us that perfect balance of sweet and sour with every bite! Should you be interested in the Chicken version of this recipe I briefly mention above, drop a comment below.
