Similar to Hunan beef, hunan shrimp rely on use of hot chili peppers. Except in this recipe we will be using hot chili oil along with the red pepper flakes used to make it, instead of the chiles themselves. This reminds me of the Szechuan Chicken which also uses hot chile oil. The chefs of Hunan love using hot oils and do it very skillfully. Hot oils and hot peppers not only provide heat, but also season, balance, and complement the dish. The pepper flakes used to make the hot oils are even more intensely flavored than the oils.
Traditionally, shrimp is fried in quite a bit of oil. Instead, I like to do ‘shallow frying’ similar to what I did in the Hunan Beef recipe. Alternatively, stir-frying the shrimp with just three tablespoons of oil can make an even healthier dish.
