This is a quick and simple little stir fry that only requires 30 minutes or so of prep and cooking time. But one of the keys to success in this style of cooking (especially) is mis en place, pronounced meez en plahs. The literal translation from French is “setting in place”, though from a chef’s standpoint (and the Culinary Institute of America) it means “everything in place”.
Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand. Then, do all the chopping, slicing, and dicing before beginning the cooking process. For instance, if the recipe calls for the ginger root, green onions, and garlic to go into the wok at the same time (as in this recipe), simply place all of them in the same little bowl or ramekin...ready to toss in.
There are thousands of stir fry recipes. This is my take (after many failures I might add) on a tasty, easy Shrimp Stir Fry.
A couple of notes...
Use a wok. If you have a good sized fry pan, it may work for you. I have several woks, including a huge, seasoned steel wok...and a small and a medium non-stick wok. The challenge I face when wok cooking is that I have a modern, flat top electric range. If you have a modern, large burner, gas stove...all the better. One of the keys to wok cooking is high, even heat. My medium, non-stick wok has a large, flat bottom to it...thus allowing me to achieve the desired results without too much trouble. When I cook using the large, traditional, steel wok...I do it on our gas barbeque outside. I simply remove the center grate, exposing the two, large, middle burners. Works pretty darn good! And the neighbors love that Asian cooking smell wafting through the neighborhood...at least most of them do!
The ingredients...enough for two.
2 tablespoons peanut oil (works best for wok cooking because of its tolerance for high heat)
1/2 pound medium large shrimp, shelled, and deveined
1 teaspoon fresh, minced ginger root
2 tablespoons of 1/4 inch diced green onions or scallions
2 tablespoons of fresh, minced garlic (more or less depending on your garlic taste)
1 cup of broccoli florets, just the florets (I blanch them first
in rapidly boiling water for 1 minute, then quickly cool)
1 cup of baby corn, drained (cut each corn in half if they are large)
1/4 cup diced red bell peppers
1/2 cup mushrooms, halved (quartered if they are large)
1/4 cup, unsalted chicken broth
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons corn starch, optional (this will thicken the sauce and help it stick to the shrimp and vegetables)
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional for heat)
Mix together the broth, sherry, soy sauce, and corn starch. Set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Saute the shrimp for about a minute on each side, seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the shrimp to a plate. Add remaining oil to wok. When the oil is hot (not smoking), add the ginger root, garlic, and green onions and stir fry for 30 seconds, tossing or stirring often (careful, when garlic burns it tastes bitter). Turn up the heat and add the remainder of the vegetables and stir fry until they are crispy al dente, about 1 minute or so. Turn down the heat. Add the broth, sherry, soy, and corn starch mixture...salt to taste. Cook for about 1 minute or so, adding more broth if becomes too thick. Add the sesame oil and chili flakes, stir to coat for about 30 seconds. Transfer to a heated serving dish or directly to the plates. Sprinkle on the fresh chopped cilantro.
You can serve it with the rice of your choice. I mostly use Basmati rice, steamed white rice, or Shrimp Fried Rice (I’ll do a fried rice recipe soon).
Cheers!
