Shrimp with Red Peppers and Daikon Soup

This recipe is from a cookbook I received from my super generous mom. I read about the cookbook on NPR and asked for it as a birthday present. It's an awesome cookbook. The recipes are simple yet flavorful. Each recipe is accompanied by an anecdote about early communism in China. And it's replete with beautiful propaganda drawings. 

Cover of the cookbook

I've had this cookbook for a while...it's been read and looked at but had not been used. My husband decided to make one of the shrimp dishes as he is a shrimp farmer and has access to fresh, delicious shrimp!

The recipe my dear husband decided to make

Whenever my husband or I cook we try to only use ingredients that we already have at hand. In this case the original recipe calls for green peppers and all we had was red peppers so we just kept it homogenous...you feel me?

Shrimp with Red Peppers

• 1lb shrimp, peeled
• 1/2 tsp vinegar (Dan used rice wine)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1.5 red peppers
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Serve with rice!

Marinate the shrimp with the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch. I believe Dan marinated our shrimp for about an hour. 

Heat your wok WITHOUT oil and stir-fry the red peppers until they are a little soft. About 3 minutes. Remove them before they change color onto a plate.

Let the wok re-heat without oil again and once hot and oil. Once it is smoking slightly, add the garlic and stir-fry briefly...10 seconds. Add the shrimp with the sauce and cook until pink...should be about 1-2 minutes. Add the peppers, mix, and serve. 

Dan finishing the stir-fry

Final product. 

Ok. So. Daikon soup...aka radish soup. It sounds strange and bland but I love this soup. I was first introduced to daikon soup when my husband and I went out to dinner at a local Korean restaurant, Willow Tree. They serve this soup as an appetizer and I LOVE IT! I still haven't perfected the recipe but here's what I've come up with so far.

Daikon and Kim Chi Soup

• 1-2lbs daikon, cubed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup kim chi (basically to taste)
• 1 tsp beef flavored Better than Bouillon
• 6 cups water

Put the daikon, onion, bouillon and water in a large pot. Boil until the daikon is tender. Add the kim chi and take off the heat. Enjoy!

Daikon I bought at the Kaneohe Farmer's Market. Usually they are much bigger than this.

Daikon, onion boiling in the water.