I love Panda Express because they have brown rice amongst other things. A lot of their dishes are pretty agnostic to Asia in general and this is one of those. Mod, my Thai wife, helped by figuring out the sauce to use. It's not exactly the same and we used a butane burner and different ingredients of course. It's a close approximation, using healthier ingredients where possible.
Adaptations
Adapt as you please, you will notice a slightly different appearance. If you look at the image above, you will see that there is a coating on the shrimp I really didn't want. Mod used corn starch, making the sauce thicker. You could probably coat the shrimp with the corn starch if you want to go for that look.
You can also cook the meat a little hotter and longer for a more seared look around the edges. Ours was done over butane which would have taken much longer to achieve that look and still cook outside with the nice natural light.
Making it Healthier
So there are a few things you can do to make it healthier. Control for the amount of salt you are putting in. Go for a leaner cuts of beef like sirloin or round eye. China Express advertises as using certified Angus beef. The reason that matters is taste, not so much for health, according to this quora explanation.
Angus is a type of cow, they tend to have more fat which is delicious. You can get leaner cuts of Angus like any other beef, it's just the part of the cow. Using brown rice as a side is always a good idea. Panda Express offers it as an option but you will want to ask if you are at the restaurant, it's not obvious.
For a reduced calorie sweet chili sauce, try this recipe we make using stevia.
https://healthythairecipes.com/healthier-thai-sweet-chili-sauce-reduced-calories-and-salt/
Copycat Panda Express Wok Seared Steak and Shrimp
Equipment
- Wok
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Canola oil or olive oil
Protein
- 1 lb. Steak Bite sized pieces of angus if you want it to taste like theirs.
- 12 oz Large shrimp Peeled and cleaned
Veggies
- 6 oz Snap peas Whole, Cleaned
- 2 Bell Peppers Sliced into strips
- ½ Onion Yellow or White, Medium sized, Peeled and sliced into strips
- 1 Potato Sliced into bite sized pieces
For the sauce/ gravy
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch Mixed with a little water
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce Go less if you don't like sweet
Instructions
- Heat the wok on high with the oil until it's piping hot, over a flame, if you don't have a flame use a flat skillet for better heat.
- Add in the steak and stir-fry until seared a little.
- Add in the veggies and stir-fry in for a minute or two.
- Add in the sauce ingredients and mix in.
- Add in the shrimp last and cook until coated with the sauce and cooked to your desired level.
- Taste and make sure everything is cooked through and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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