Spicy Stir-Fry with Shrimp
This is food for my soul! I have been making variations of it since I made it the first time to impress a guest while I was at university. It nourishes my spirit and my body; whenever I attempt to eat healthier, it is the first food that comes to mind.
Ingredients:
| 1 tbsp. spicy szechuan or sesame oil
1 tbsp. fresh chopped ginger 1 clove garlic, minced ½ medium red onion ½ red bell pepper ½ bunch broccoli (about 1 lb.) 2 large carrots |
1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 cup water 1 tbsp. corn starch 2 tbsp. tamari sauce 20 snow peas 5 medium shitake mushrooms, sliced 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts |
Preparation time: 1 hour (30 mins. chopping time, 30 mins. cooking time).
Chop the vegetables and place them in rows in the order they are listed above in a large baking dish or platter. Make different “cuts” of the vegetables for variety in your presentation. I cut the onions in small slices, the carrots into rounds, the red pepper into squares and the snow peas into three pieces. Mix the water, corn starch and tamari and stir briskly with a fork. Make sure your shrimp is peeled and de-veined. Set everything beside the stove.
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan on medium to medium high. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic. Stir vigorously and watch carefully so that the garlic does not burn. As these start to brown, add the onion, bell pepper, broccoli and carrots one at a time about a minute apart. Continue to stir vigorously. If you don’t feel your wrist is getting a work-out, turn up the heat. As the vegetables start to cook and soften with the oil, add the shrimp and cover. Stir it every couple of minutes. When the shrimp is bright pink (approximately 7 to 10 minutes), add the cornstarch mixture, the snow peas and the mushrooms. Cover and cook until the mushrooms are still firm but darker in colour. When you have your plates out, throw the bean sprouts into the pan and toss for about 15 to 30 seconds. Serve immediately with rice. I use basmati rice for company and long-grained brown rice for soul food.
Alternatives: You can add almost any vegetable to this dish, just consider whether it is a long cooking or short cooking vegetable and add it to the pan or wok at the appropriate time. For example, zucchini is a short cooking vegetable and cauliflower is a long cooking vegetable. I sometimes add baby corn just because it looks pretty and my kids chant, “baby corn, baby corn!” as if I have created a masterpiece.
