Name: Vegan Chili Shrimp Stir Fry (Ebi Chili)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients: 1/3 + 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (45g); 1 tbsp glutinous rice flour OR chickpea flour (15g // I used a combination of both ); 30g konjac, shredded; 30g carrots, grated; 20g traditional / medium firm tofu; 2 tsp miso paste (8g); 1 1/2 + 2 tsp tsp kombu dashi granules, divided (4g); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper, optional; 2 tsp kombu dashi granules; 2 tbsp olive oil (30ml); 1 1/2 tsp paprika (6g); 10 pieces small size rice paper (or yuba sheets); 2 garlic cloves, minced (8g); 1 tbsp ginger, minced (12g); 2 1/2 tbsp ketchup (37g); 1-2 tsp Doubanjian (5g); 1/2 tbsp sake (7ml); 1/4 tsp salt; 1/3 + 1 1/2 tbsp water (100ml); 1 tsp mushroom stock powder (7g); 1/2 tbsp sugar (6g); 1/8 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp rice vinegar (5g // or apple cider vinegar); 1 green onion, finely sliced (12g); 1 tsp potato starch (3g) + 1 tbsp water (15ml), mixed together; 1 tsp sesame oil (5ml)

Learn how to make vegan shrimp from scratch with seitan and rice papers! These vegan prawns are stir fried and then coated in a sweet and spicy Japanese chili sauce.

After my vegan ‘seafood week’ series a few months ago, I’ve gotten several requests for more plant based seafood recipes. One I’ve been really wanting to tackle is shrimp! I used to love shrimp dishes like shrimp tempura, ebi katsu (shrimp katsu), shrimp avocado bagels and my absolute favourite: ebi chili!

What is Ebi Chili?

Ebi Chili is a spicy shrimp stir fry dish that is very popular in Japan with origins from Chinese Sichuan cuisine. What differs between the Chinese and Japanese version is the sweetness of the sauce. It has been adjusted to suite Japanese taste buds which tend to be on the mild side. This is why you don’t see a lot of spicy food in Japanese cuisine.

This dish is not only enjoyed at Chinese restaurants but also commonly prepared at home for bentos and dinners because of how quick and easy it is to make! They even sell pouches of the ready made sauce that my mom often brought back home. She would make this on weeknights and was one of favourite dinners especially alongside a fresh bowl of steamy rice. I loved it so much I decided to on ebi chili over the other shrimp dishes.

Vegan Shrimp Inspiration

When coming up with a vegan shrimp recipe there were a few things I had to consider. Unlike meats, shrimp has a plump, almost firm texture with a slight bouncy tender bite to them. The texture of both seitan and mochi came to mind so you’ll see in the ingredients that I actually used glutinous rice flour in combination with vital wheat gluten to achieve that similar texture.

When it came to the outside and shape of the shrimp I tinkered with the idea the skin used for har gow (shrimp dumplings) made from wheat starch because of it’s clear appearance and yuba sheets often used for vegetarian ‘shrimps’ at restaurants where they stuff it with various vegetables. I tried both and much preferred the appearance using the har gow skin.

During my second round of testing the seitan, I made Vietnamese rice paper rolls and stuffed them with the seitan. You know what looks very similar to har gow skin? Rice paper! Using rice paper cuts down the preparation of the recipe, was much easier to work with and I found looked a lot nicer.

I did a bit of search after to see if this techqniue was done and came across the How to Cook CHANNEL that has a very similar Shrimp recipe. With hers, I noticed she used carrots to achieve a bit of that colour so borrowed that idea of using carrots as well. I also liked that it did add a bit of sweetness to the overall shrimp!

How to Make Vegan Shrimp

Making the vegan shrimps does take a bit of time because we are making the seitan from scratch but the overall process is easy and most of the cooking time is hands off. Here’s a run down of what you’ll need and how to make seitan shrimp:

The Ingredients

Vital wheat gluten: the base of the seitan
Glutinous rice flour: for textural purposes, you can also use chickpea flour or a combination of both like I Konjac: adds texture and a mild sea-like flavour
Carrots: for a little bit of sweetness and apperance
Tofu: for texture
Miso paste: for flavour
Kombu dashi granules: added sea-like flavour
Rice paper sheets (or yuba): for the outer skin and forming the ‘shrimps’

The Directions

Vegan ‘Shrimps’

Prepare seitan: Add the grated carrots, konjac, miso paste and tofu to a bowl. Mix it together with your hands while mashing the tofu. Add the vital wheat gluten, glutinous rice flour and/or chickpea flour, kombu dashi granules, salt and black pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined and the dough comes together. You may need to add in 1-2 tsp of water. The dough should be moist enough to hold together but not too wet or sticky.
Rest seitan: Place the dough onto your work surface and knead for 5-8 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl, cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Cook the seitan: Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the kombu dashi granules. Flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Reduce to medium heat and then drop the seitan in. Cover and cook for about 40-45 minutes. Remove the seitan from the pot with tongs. Allow for it to cool. Cut the seitan into 10 roughly even sized pieces.
Wrap the ‘shrimps’
1. Rice paper options (preferred): dip the rice paper in warm warer for 5 seconds and then place on your work surface. Add a piece of seitan towards the bottom and roll upward until it reaches the end. Fold the ‘shrimp’ and insert a skewer to hold its shape. Repeat for remaining seitan.
1. Yuba option: soak them in hot water for 10 minutes. If using frozen, defrost. If using fresh, rinse them well. If using rice paper, submerge in warm water for about 1-2 minutes until soft.
Give it colour: Mix together the olive oil and paprika. Brush on both sides of the ‘shrimps’. Let them rest while gathering the ingredients for the chili sauce.

Japanese Chili Sauce

One the shrimps are done, it’s time to make the chili sauce! The Japanese chili sauce is much more mild because like I mentioned above, Japanese people can’t handle much spice.

To make the Japanese chili sauce, all thats required is to stir fry the aromatics, add the sauces and seasonings in and thicken it up with a bit of potato starch slurry. If you don’t have potato starch, you can substitute with corn starch.

More Vegan Seafood Recipes to Try

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

If you recreate this Vegan Shrimp Ebi Chili recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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