Crisp Stir-fried Shrimps (or Prawns)
One of my favourite fast dinners is prawns tossed in a wok with a large splash of Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and some chopped spring onions. Mmmm - tasty (it works well for frogs legs too). When I have a little more time however, Crisp Stir-fried Small Aquatic Arthropod is also a favourite, especially when paired with egg stir-fried rice (as seen below).
Although it's in the Hors d'Oeuvres section of my cookbook, I eat it as a main, and 500gm of shrimp or prawn is enough for 2 - 4 anyway (depending on their appetite and liking for arthropods), or can be reheated for lunch. It's a nicely flexible dish, i.e. this time I used prawns rather than shrimp, a Fino sherry and chicken consommé rather than stock, of which I had none. I was also lazy and didn't bother to de-tail the prawns.
The recipe I use comes from the very comprehensive "Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook" (recommended by Barbara of the excellent Tigers and Strawberries), which has become my favourite Chinese collection, and is reproduced below:
Crisp Stir-fried Shrimps
Yan-Kit So "Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook - A Complete Guide to the Equipment, Ingredients, Recipes and Techniques" Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 2nd ed. 1998. ISBN 0-7513-0563-4; p.48
Ingredients
500 gm fresh or frozen raw peeled shrimps or prawns cut into 2 cm pieces
groundnut or corn oil
15ml (1 Tbs) Shaohsing wine or medium dry sherry
For the Marinade:
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
15 ml (1 Tbs) cornflour
1 egg white
For the Sauce:
5 ml (1 tsp) cornflour
60 ml (4 Tbs) clear stock
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) sugar
salt to taste
Although it's in the Hors d'Oeuvres section of my cookbook, I eat it as a main, and 500gm of shrimp or prawn is enough for 2 - 4 anyway (depending on their appetite and liking for arthropods), or can be reheated for lunch. It's a nicely flexible dish, i.e. this time I used prawns rather than shrimp, a Fino sherry and chicken consommé rather than stock, of which I had none. I was also lazy and didn't bother to de-tail the prawns.
The recipe I use comes from the very comprehensive "Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook" (recommended by Barbara of the excellent Tigers and Strawberries), which has become my favourite Chinese collection, and is reproduced below:
Crisp Stir-fried Shrimps
Yan-Kit So "Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cookbook - A Complete Guide to the Equipment, Ingredients, Recipes and Techniques" Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 2nd ed. 1998. ISBN 0-7513-0563-4; p.48
Ingredients
500 gm fresh or frozen raw peeled shrimps or prawns cut into 2 cm pieces
groundnut or corn oil
15ml (1 Tbs) Shaohsing wine or medium dry sherry
For the Marinade:
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
15 ml (1 Tbs) cornflour
1 egg white
For the Sauce:
5 ml (1 tsp) cornflour
60 ml (4 Tbs) clear stock
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) sugar
salt to taste
- If frozen shrimps are used, defrost thoroughly. Wash the shrimps under cold running water. Pat dry with kitchen paper but leave damp. Put into a bowl.
- Prepare the marinade: sprinkle the salt over the shrimps and mix well. Sitr in the cornflour, then add the egg white and stir again to coat the shrimps evenly and thoroughly. Cover and leave to marinate for at least 5 hours.
- For the sauce: mix together the cornflour, stock and sugar in a small bowl. Put aside.
- Half fill a wok or deep-fryer with oil. Heat until just hot (150C/300F). Carefully add all the shrimps and fry for 30-45 seconds, seperating them with a pair of long chopsticks or a long-handled wooden spoon. Remove the shrimps before they are quite cooked with a hand strainer or perforated disc and drain on kitchen paper.
- Pour most of the oil into a container, leaving only about 30 ml (2 Tbsp) in the wok. Reheat until smoke rises. Quickly add the shrimps to the wok and stir a few times with a wok scoop or metal spatula. Splash in the wine or sherry around the side of the wok. When the sizzling dies down, pour in the well-stirred sauce. Continue to flip and toss for a few more seconds. Add salt to taste, if necessary. Remove the mixture to a warm serving plate. Serve immediately.