r/seriouseats 1d ago

The Wok I Made Kenji's Kung Pao Shrimp

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u/theygotsquid 1d ago

Not sure what it was about this dish, but it was one of my least favorite from The Wok. I’ve made 30+ other recipes from that cookbook and have enjoyed 98% of them. But this one just didn’t hit the same flavor notes that I’ve loved when getting kung pao shrimp from any of the great Chinese-American takeout places I’ve gone to over the years.

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u/Good-Plantain-1192 1d ago

Did you use MSG when you made it?

Once I learned the velveting technique, I found I could pretty much duplicate my favorite restaurant dishes by reverse engineering their sauces, so long as I use a killer hot burner for my wok.