Shrimp Stir Fry
So while these recipes of course work best in the high heat of wok cooking, we hope you'll at least still give them a try, even if you're still at the skillet stage. But first, these wok cooking suggestions: Wok Tips For cooking oil, be sure to use oil that heats to a high temperature without smoking. We've tried Peanut oil, corn oil, and soybean oil all work well. Be sure not to use olive oil, sesame oil or butter in the wok. Be sure to chop, line up and otherwise prepare all your ingredients ahead of time and have them handy to throw in the wok. Cooking at high heat in a wok means you won't have time to stop and chop something up in the middle of your cooking. Be sure also to make all ingredients of a uniform size for even cooking. When you're ready to cook, turn up the heat under the wok, when it's high enough, drizzle in your oil, around the sides of the pan, let it heat about 30 seconds, then begin introducing your ingredients in batches. Generally speaking, introduce meat first, then vegetables, and stir constantly, keeping the ingredients moving around the wok. Note that with shrimp, especially small shrimp, they cook faster than other meats, so some recipes, including these below, suggest introducing them into the wok after sturdier vegetables which might take longer to cook. Corn Starch Don't forget the cornstarch! When we first started wok cooking, we didn't "get" the addition of corn starch and water. But this mixture is what gives wok cooking its magic. Corn starch dissolved in equal parts water, usually about two tablespoons each per recipe, coats the ingredients and allows the flavors from each ingredient and sauce to stick to each other and blend. The shiny coating also enhances presentation. Add cornstarch mixture as the final stage of most dishes, and remove from the heat as soon as it thickens. Usually 30 seconds is more than enough. Cleaning Your Wok Unless you have a coated wok, such as the ones made by Le Creuset, be sure to never clean your wok with dish soap. The soap merely soaks into the metal and comes back out into your food the next time you cook. Instead, clean out your wok thoroughly after each use with towels. The next time you use it, the high heat will ensure no bacteria can live on its surface. Recipes Simple Shrimp Stir Fry with Vegetables
Dice all vegetables to a uniform size. Heat wok, swirl a tablespoon or two of cooking oil into the wok. Add minced garlic, then add bell peppers and onions. Add in the shrimp, cook until shrimp are opaque. Stir in soy sauce and sugar, allow to bubble. Stir in cornstarch and water until corn starch starts to thicken. Remove from heat and serve over rice or Asian noodles. Variations Shrimp Stir Fry with Bok Choy Use recipe above, but remove shrimp just before fully cooked and set aside. Add the bell peppers and onions and cook, add ½ pound of diced bok choy to the vegetable mix, along with ½ cup chicken stock or white wine. Let reduce so that bok choy is slightly wilted. Re-introduce shrimp and continue to follow recipe as above except omit corn starch and water. Shrimp Stir Fry with Almonds Use recipe above. Add slivered almonds or whole cashews. Shrimp Stir Fry with Cashews and Water Chestnuts Use recipe above, stir in one teaspoon ginger with cooking oil. With shrimp, add whole cashews. With vegetables, add one can water chestnuts. Alternative: use one can of bamboo shoots. Shrimp Stir Fry with Ginger Use recipe above. Add 2 teaspoons minced ginger when you stir the garlic into the wok. Super Hot Shrimp Stir Fry Use recipe above. Add 2 tablespoons chili sauce just prior to adding corn starch. Kung Pao Shrimp Stir Fry
Heat wok, swirl in cooking oil cook shrimp until opaque. Set aside. Add remaining ingredients except for chili oil, cornstarch and water. Let ingredients boil briefly. Return shrimp to wok, add chili oil, add corn starch mixed with water, stir until corn starch thickens. Remove from heat and serve over rice or Asian noodles. Shrimp Stir Fry with Chinese Black Beans We're just beginning to experiment with Chinese black beans, which are actually fermented soy beans. It only takes a tablespoon or two to punch up the flavor of your stir fry. We're keeping our recipe simple (well, actually all of our recipes are pretty simple...) but we encourage you to check out your local library's recipe book section and try some more sophisticated variations using this ingredient.
Let black beans soak in water, set aside. In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, sugar and garlic. Add shrimp, let marinate about one hour. Chop bok choy or cabbage into small pieces. Prepare wok. When hot, swirl in about 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add ginger, let cook about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and marinade, let cook until shrimp becomes opaque. Drain black beans and add. Remove from wok, set aside. Add bok choy or cabbage and stock. Let stock reduce and bok choy or cabbage wilt. Return other ingredients to wok and stir. Remove from heat and serve. Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry
Heat the wok, swirl in cooking oil and cook shrimp until almost pink. Set aside. Add soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and stock, let bubble and reduce slightly, about a minute. Return shrimp to wok, add chili oil, then add corn starch mixed in water. Stir until corn starch thickens. Remove from heat and serve over white rice or Asian noodles. Don't miss these related pages... Return from the Shrimp Stir Fry page to the Favorite Shrimp Recipes home page
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