During our early years, my hubby and I invested in a good wok and used our stovetop for many years to experiment with Asian cooking. Over the years, we lost track of the delicious flavors this type of cuisine had to offer and recently revived our interesting in creating new and delicious dishes.
We’ve recently gotten back into the routine of making those flavorful meals, stocking the necessary spices and vinegars and oils as regulars in our pantry. Lately, we’ve experimented with and made our favorite Honey Garlic Shrimp and Broccoli on Rice, Beef and Broccoli on Rice and Orange Chicken on Rice dishes. The combinations of flavors in each meal are a wonderful change from typical Midwestern fare of brats and burgers. These three meals are eventually all included in my blog. Be sure to check them out and treat your family to these special deep layers of flavors.
Gather up the Marinade Ingredients:
¾ C Honey
¼ C Soy Sauce, low sodium
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/8 t Red Pepper flakes (or more to taste)
1 t Ginger, ground
Select top quality Ingredients:
1 LB Shrimp, peeled, deveined, uncooked (fresh or thawed from frozen)
3-4 C Broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces
2 T Sesame oil
2 t Cornstarch
2 Green onions, fresh, cleaned, sliced
2 C Rice, white, cooked
Prepare your pans:
This fits into a 12” sauté pan or cast-iron skillet.
You’ll also need a separate saucepan to make the rice in.
Make your rice:
- It’s your choice how you want your rice made. Use the dried rice or precooked rice and prepare according to the package directions. I like to use the dried rice so I can cook up a nice sticky rice. My second choice is the “boil in a bag” rice. It’s been partially cooked so it only takes 8-10 minutes to boil in a saucepan. Following the package instructions, it comes out perfect every time.
- Keep the rice warm by placing a cover over it. If it cools too much you can reheat it in the microwave, 10 seconds at a time.
Make the marinade:
- Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk together so thoroughly combined. Do not add the cornstarch yet.
- Put 1/3 of the marinade in a sealable plastic bag so you can marinade the shrimp.
Whisk in the cornstarch to the other 2/3 of the marinade and set aside. This portion of marinade will be used later.
Marinade the shrimp:
- Pour 1/3 of the marinade in a sealable plastic bag.
- Add all the raw, cleaned shrimp and shake the bag so all shrimp are covered.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, turning the bag periodically to make sure all the shrimp soak in the marinade.
Sauté the veggies:
- A few minutes before you plan to cook the shrimp, heat 1 T of the sesame oil in a pan on medium heat.
- Sauté the onions until lightly transparent.
- Add the broccoli and cook until browned on the edges. It will still be a little crunchy.
- If you want the veggies to be soft, cover and let cook a little longer. I personally like my veggies on the crisp side.
- Move broccoli and onions to a temporary bowl and cover to keep warm.
- Add the rest of the sesame oil to the pan.
- Pour marinated shrimp, including that marinade, into the pan.
- Sauté the shrimp 1 minute.
- Flip the shrimp once.
- Quickly add the rest of the marinade that has the cornstarch in it. As it cooks with the shrimp the sauce will thicken.
- Cook the shrimp (1-2 minutes) just so it is just cooked and pink. Do not overcook or the shrimp can turn tough.
- Stir the broccoli mixture into the shrimp and sauce mixture.
- Let the veggies heat through without cooking the shrimp too far.
- Serve in low sided bowls with a salad on the side.
Enjoy!
This meal of shrimp, broccoli and onions on white rice is such a pleasant mix of the sweet honey, musky sesame oil, and heat from the red pepper flakes. Served on white rice, it’s a complete meal! Whether you add more red pepper flakes or keep it sweeter with a little extra honey, enjoy the mix of wonderful flavors, and “Bake your own Memories!”