Moo Goo Shrimp: Best Food You Did Not Know You Need

Boiling shrimp is the quickest way to enjoy tasty seafood. But if you want a serving of it, that’s bursting with texture, color, and nutrients for a change, making moo goo shrimp is the way to go!

Moo goo shrimp is a spin-off of the American-Chinese dish moo goo gai pan, which is thin strips of velveted chicken stir-fried with button mushrooms and vegetables such as snow peas, water chestnuts, and carrots. Nutritious and good for weight loss, moo goo shrimp has a cook time of around 10 minutes only.

What’s really great about making moo goo shrimp in your kitchen is that you can substitute the usual vegetable ingredients (below, you will come across a basic yet delicious sample recipe!) with just about anything you can stir-fry.

And similar to when cooking the real deal, you may or may not choose to velvet shrimp beforehand.

And this brings us to the following question, answering which is a great way to kick things off…

What Does It Mean to Velvet Shrimp?

Simply put, velveting shrimp is coating the seafood in a mixture of cornstarch and water or egg white. Velveting is done in order to give shrimp a silky texture. It also keeps shrimp from getting dry and overcooked.

Velveting is a Chinese cooking technique usually employed when stir-frying meat.

Worry not if you are madly in love with the flavor of shrimp — velveting will not affect its taste negatively. As a matter of fact, it may help improve the flavor as it can keep some of the moisture and juice from escaping.

It will also help improve the texture of shrimp, enhancing the fact that it’s stir-fried.

But when cooking moo goo shrimp, it’s completely up to you whether or not you will velvet shrimp beforehand.

Do you like the texture of shrimp as is?

Are you confident you will not overcook shrimp?

So, in other words, velveting shrimp for the purpose of cooking moo goo is completely optional.

What are the Ingredients for Moo Goo Shrimp?

Large shrimp are the best for cooking moo goo shrimp. Also, important moo goo shrimp ingredients are button mushrooms. All kinds of vegetables can be stir-fried with shrimp.

Some of the best options are those that remain crunchy even after stir-frying, such as snow peas, water chestnuts, and carrots.

One of the nicest things about making moo goo shrimp from scratch is that you can use just about any vegetable good for stir-frying. This means you can personalize a moo goo shrimp recipe on the internet without trouble.

Definitely, it’s a good idea to stick to veggies that are crunchy even after being stir-fried.

Button mushrooms are also must-have ingredients when cooking moo goo shrimp. Ran out of button mushrooms? No worries! That’s because you can use crimini, portobello, white, shiitake or oyster mushrooms instead.

For velveting shrimp, you will need cornstarch and water. Egg white may be used in place of water.

How Do You Cook Moo Goo Shrimp?

Moo goo shrimp takes only about 10 minutes to cook. Because the American-Chinese seafood dish is stir-fried, it’s cooked on high heat for a short period of time.

To keep shrimp from being overcooked and ending up dry and rubbery, it’s usually velveted and stir-fried separately from the vegetable ingredients.

Here’s a sample moo goo shrimp recipe that serves 4 that you can give a try…

Ingredients:

20 large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 cups broccoli florets (chopped)
1 cup of button mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup of snow peas
1 cup of water chestnuts (sliced)
1 cup of carrots (cubed)
1/4 cup shrimp stock
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Lightly coat shrimp with cornstarch. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, shrimp stock, sugar, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir.
Stir-fry button mushrooms, broccoli florets, snow peas, water chestnuts and carrots.
Stir in sauce mixture and bring to a boil (stirring constantly) until sauce thickens.
Add in cooked shrimp and allow to simmer for 1 minute.

How Do You Store Moo Goo Shrimp?

Leftover moo goo shrimp should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will last anywhere from 3 to 4 days. Prior to refrigeration, transfer the seafood dish to a refrigerator-safe airtight container. Never allow moo goo shrimp or any other dish with shrimp to sit at room temperature for 2 hours or more.

While delicious and nutritious, cooked shrimp does not last for a long time outside of the refrigerator.

The problem with eating bad shrimp is that it can cause food poisoning.

According to health authorities, the symptoms of shellfish poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain and/or cramping, can show up 4 to 48 hours from the time bad shrimp was consumed.

Make sure that you place moo goo shrimp in an airtight container that’s safe for refrigerator use within 2 hours of cooking and keep the seafood dish refrigerated to extend the shelf life for 3 to 4 days.

Can You Freeze Moo Goo Shrimp?

Storing moo goo shrimp in the freezer can keep it in good condition for 10 to 12 months. However, it’s generally a good idea to consume frozen moo goo shrimp within 3 months. Before storing moo goo shrimp in the freezer, the shrimp and vegetables should be stored separately from the sauce for best quality.

Fret not if there’s no guarantee you will be able to consume moo goo shrimp in the refrigerator within 3 to 4 days. That’s because you can simply store the seafood dish in the freezer.

However, store the shrimp and other solid ingredients in one container and the sauce in another.

Doing this can keep the freezer burn effect on shrimp, button mushrooms and vegetables to a minimum.

Also, the sauce may break apart in the freezer and may refuse to combine together when reheated. With the sauce stored separately, shrimp and the rest of the ingredients can still be enjoyed with freshly-made sauce.

How Do You Reheat Moo Goo Shrimp?

The easiest and fastest way to reheat moo goo shrimp stored in the refrigerator is by microwaving the dish for 1-minute intervals. Refrain from reheating moo goo shrimp in the microwave for longer than 3 minutes to prevent shrimp from being overcooked. Refrigerated moo goo shrimp may be stir-fried again, too.

To avoid overcooking the shrimp, microwave the seafood separately from the vegetables and sauce.

Kept moo goo shrimp in the freezer?

Transfer the seafood dish to the refrigerator overnight to let it thaw there gradually, without causing bacterial multiplication and running the risk of having food poisoning.

Just Before You Cook Moo Goo Shrimp

Moo goo shrimp is one of the easiest shrimp recipes you can try.

It’s something that you can personalize as you can substitute standard vegetable ingredients with practically anything of your choosing that stir-fries very well.

And because shrimp cooks quite easily, whipping up moo goo shrimp won’t take up much of your precious time.

Delicious and nutritious and quick to make — there is no reason for you not to make moo goo shrimp in your kitchen. It’s so versatile, too, that you can serve it on a bed of steamed rice or noodles or enjoy it on its own!