Slippery Shrimp

A few summers ago when we were visiting my cousin (and great friend, and former BYU roommate) Lindsey in L.A., she took us to a restaurant in Chinatown called Yang Chow. We shared her favorite dish, Slippery Shrimp. It was so good and we talked about it for weeks. When my mom came to visit she brought the March issue of Bon Appetit magazine and as I was reading it I came across the "R.S.V.P./readers' favoriter restaurant recipes" section and was thrilled to see a recipe for Yang Chow's Slippery Shrimp. The recipes from Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines can be accessed at epicurious.com and there is an awesome restaurant recipe section, http://www.epicurious.com/bonappetit/restaurant_recipes, where you can search by location, restaurant name, or course. The slippery shrimp recipe is on page 26 of the March issue of Bon Appetit. I can't access it on the website but I'm sure there is some sort of purposeful delay in getting recipes from the printed issue onto epicurious. I served the shrimp over rice and with a side of steamed broccoli. This meal turned out amazing! The only thing I changed was substituting white grape juice for the sherry. The cayenne pepper gives the sauce a really good kick so if you don't love spicy foods, I would cut down on the cayenne. We loved, loved, loved this dish and it will be among the regular rotation from now on! Here is the recipe from the magazine:

Yang Chow's Slippery Shrimp, 6 servings

2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined

6 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons water

1 cup corn oil or vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons dry Sherry

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions

Mix shrimp and 6 tablespoons cornstarch in large bowl to coat. Mix remaining 4 teaspoons cornstarch and 4 teaspoons water in small bowl to blend. Heat oil in heavy large skillet or wok over high heat. Working in batches, fry shrimp until cooked through and golden on both sides, about 3 minutes. Using slotteds spoon, transfer cooked shrimp to plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon oil from wok. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, sugar, cayenne, and salt; stir constantly until garlic begins to brown, about 15 seconds. Add tomato sauce, vinegar, and Sherry. Stir cornstarch-water mixture if separated and add to sauce. Cook until sauce boils and thickens, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add reserved shrimp to sauce and toss to coat. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup green onions to shrimp; toss. Transfer to plate; sprinkle with remaining green onions and serve.