Shrimp, Pasta, Broccoli, and Bell Pepper Stir Fry

 

I absolutely love pasta stir fry and, although I am not and expert on Asian cuisine, I cook it all the time! This kind of dish is very easy and quick to put together. I often cook it on weeknights using shrimp, chicken, or beef, and whatever vegetables I have in the refrigerator. 


A one pot meal that makes the adults and the kids in my family very happy!






Somehow this post turned out super long! I will stop taking now so you can start cooking! I hope you enjoy this very favorite of mine!






Shrimp, Pasta, Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Stir Fry


Ingredients


16 large raw deveined shrimp, tails on
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
8 oz broccoli rabe, chopped
6 scallions, cut into 3 inch sections
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped




For the marinating and cooking stir fry sauce


1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha spicy chilli sauce
3 tablespoons sherry cooking wine
2 tablespoons corn starch


Directions


To make the stir fry sauce, mix all the ingredients in a measuring cup until well combined. 


Place shrimp in a bowl and add 1/4 of the stir fry sauce. The shrimp will marinate in that sauce while you get the other ingredients ready for cooking. 


Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain it and coat with a little bit of sesame oil. Set it aside.


Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and the broccoli. Cook it for 2 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water, cover the skillet with a lid and cook until the water has evaporated and the broccoli is slightly tender but still has some crunch to it. Transfer broccoli to a bowl.


Turn the heat to high, add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and the bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until peppers are slightly tender. Transfer peppers to the same plate you put the cooked broccoli. 


There should be enough oil in the skillet to cook the shrimp. If not, add a little more. Cook shrimp (discard marinating sauce) for a few minutes or until it turns pink in color (keep in mind that shrimp will continue to cook later). Now add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes until scallions start to soften. Turn the heat to medium, add the broccoli and pepper back to the skillet, add half of the stir fry sauce and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer it to a bowl.


Add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil to the skillet. Add cooked pasta and the remainder of the stir fry sauce. Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the shrimp and vegetables back to the skillet and stir to combine. If sauce is too thick or the pasta seems dry, slowly add water until pasta and other ingredients are nicely coated with sauce. Try the pasta and adjust salt, if necessary (you can use salt or more soy sauce). Try the pasta again and make sure you cannot taste the corn starch (if you can taste it, just cook pasta a little longer).


Top pasta with plenty of roughly chopped fresh cilantro and serve immediately.  


Visualize


Start by making the magical stir fry sauce! Pour 1/2 cup of low-sodium soy sauce in a measuring cup. To that add:

And grated ginger: 

And finally the following:

Ask a little cute girl with tiny hands to whisk it all together for you:

Now pour 1/4 of the sauce over the shrimp. Allow the shrimp to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.

This is the pasta I like to use. I found it at Lunds. Alternatively, you can use regular spaghetti.

 

I like to use broccoli rabe - I love its flavor and texture. I chopped mine into small pieces just to save me some time when cooking it. At this time also chop the bell pepper so it is ready for when you need it.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, stir it around for a couple of minutes. 

Add water and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook until broccoli is slightly tender but still has some crunch to it.

Transfer the broccoli to a bowl and set it aside.

With the heat on high,  a little more oil to the skillet. Add the bell peppers and cook for a few minutes, stirring around often. You just want the pepper to  get slightly tender, just like you did with the broccoli. 

Transfer pepper to the same bowl you put the broccoli in.

Now add the shrimp to the skillet (discard marinating sauce).

Cook for a couple minutes over high heat until shrimp looks pink (you don't need to cook it through at this point). Now add scallions:

Cook for another 2 minutes until scallions start to soften. Transfer broccoli and pepper back to the skillet.

Add about half of the stir fry sauce:

Stir to combine and cook for a few minutes (stirring often). 

Transfer the shrimp, broccoli, and pepper to a bowl. Add a little more oil to the skillet. 

Add the cooked pasta and the remainder of the stir fry sauce. Cook, stirring often, for a couple of minutes.

Add shrimp and vegetables back to the skillet and stir to combine. At this point you can slowly add some water if the sauce gets too thick.  You want to make sure the pasta is coated in sauce and it is very moist.

Ready!

Plates it and top with plenty of fresh cilantro:

So delicious!