Shantung Shrimp

As a child, my parents loved to take me and my siblings to two Chinese restaurants in downtown Manila on special occasions or when we go shopping in that part of the city. They were San Jacinto and Shantung Restaurants both of which were in Chinatown Manila.  I loved all the dishes in San Jacinto but unfortunately it closed down.  I am not sure if Shantung is still in operation. We went to this latter restaurant because of one particular dish, the spicy tomato based Shantung Shrimp.  We did not mind lining up to get a table at the always crowded small restaurant to satisfy our hankering for this dish.  Its taste has haunted me lately and I finally decided to recreate it.  For the tomato based spicy sauce, I opted to take a safe and minimalist approach.  I used catsup which is already flavored and as for the spice, I relied on Sriracha sauce.  What resulted captured the spiciness and the tomato texture of Shantung.  I have not had this dish at Shantung for decades so I would just say it was close and enough to satisfy my craving for it.

This is an easy one pot dish and cooks in less than fifteen minutes.  It has only six ingredients.  So for a quick and impressive dinner this is a delicious and lovely one to try.  It is good with any kind of rice, white or brown and any steamed vegetables. I would start with one tablespoon of Sriracha and increase it if you have to.

Shantung Shrimp

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1-2 tbsp Sriracha sauce (start with 1 tbsp)
• 2 dozen raw medium sized shrimp unpeeled or peeled (I used unpeeled ones)
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Saute the onion and garlic in the heated oil till they are cooked.  Add the catsup, Sriracha sauce and the shrimp to the sauteed onion and garlic and allow the mixture to boil gently till the shrimp turn pink. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over rice and a side of steamed vegetables.