Sweet & Sour Scampi
Submitted by Hailey
Butter-seared shrimp with fennel and lemon, topped with a tangy pineapple-ginger sweet and sour sauce. A 30-minute seafood dinner that bridges Italian scampi and Asian flair.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
15 minREADY
30 minThis dish sits right at the crossroads of Italian scampi and Chinese sweet and sour, and somehow it just works.
Shrimp get a quick sear in butter with fennel seeds and lemon juice until they curl up pink and fragrant. Meanwhile, a separate sauce simmers together: white wine, white vinegar, orange juice, fresh ginger, and diced pineapple, all thickened with a cornstarch slurry until glossy.
The fennel seed is the quiet star here. It adds a subtle anise warmth to the shrimp that plays beautifully against the bright, fruity sauce.
Spoon the shrimp over rice, ladle that sauce on top, and you’ve got a restaurant-quality plate in half an hour.
Chef Tips
- Cook the shrimp in two batches. Crowding the pan steams them instead of searing, and you lose that golden, buttery crust.
- Make the sauce first and keep it on a low simmer while you cook the shrimp. It only takes a few minutes for the shrimp, and you want everything hot at the same time.
- Fresh ginger matters. Dried ginger won’t give you that bright, zesty punch this sauce needs.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare sauce by placing scallion in sauce pan.
Add wine and vinegar; season well with pepper.
Bring to boil and cook 3 minutes over medium heat.
Add sugar, orange juice, ginger, pineapple and chicken stock; mix well.
Bring to a boil again.
Mix conrstarch with water; stir into sauce and cook 2 minutes.
Correct seasoning and simmer over very low heat.
Cook shrimp in 2 batches to avoid over crowding the pan.
Heat butter in large frying pan.
Add shrimp, fennel seed and lemom juice; season well.
Cook 3 to 4 minutes; stirring frequently.
Serve shrimp with sauce over rice.
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