Sweet & Sour Shrimp with Veggies and White Rice

I don't know why, but for some reason when I'm thinking of new foods or recipes to try I tend to lean towards Asian inspired foods. A few days ago I started a search for an easy to make sweet and sour sauce that I already had the ingredients for in my kitchen. I found a recipe By Rhonda Parkinson on About.com and I decided to try it with some shrimp, veggies and white rice. You can substitute shrimp with chicken and use any veggies that you like. I used red bell pepper and onions. I also only made one serving for myself as I was just testing out this recipe, but the ingredients can be multiplied for more people.



Sweet & Sour Sauce Ingredients (serves 1):


1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch mixed with 4 tsp water


Shrimp/Veggie Ingredients:


6-8 shrimp
1/4 large red bell pepper
1/2  small onion


1/2 cup rice


Note: When rice cooks it doubles in size and I usually plan 1/2 cup uncooked rice per person which will result in 1 cup cooked rice per person.

Before I start preparing the sauce I put the rice into the rice cooker and flip the on switch. I love that rice cooker! To prepare the sauce mix the rice vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup and soy sauce in a small pot and bring to a boil. While waiting for this mixture to boil, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and quickly saute (here I'd like to point out that it's really bugging me that I can't figure out how to make the e with the accent in Blogger!) your veggies and shrimp. Everyone has their own preference for how well done they like their veggies. I like mine to have a crunch left in them. You'll know the shrimp is done when it turns pink. Once your sauce mixture has come to a boil add the corn starch and water and stir until it thickens. This should only take 2 minutes or so. That's it! At about this time the rice should be ready. Mix the shrimp and veggies with the sauce, pour over the rice and enjoy!

This whole thing took me about 20 minutes to make. Not that bad. That's less time than it takes to order take out!