Wok Wednesdays | Doubly Delicious: Stir-Fried Crystal Shrimp & Stir-Fried Garlic Shanghai Bok Choy

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

I'm really behind in making of the recipes and posting for Wok Wednesdays this month. The shrimp dish was due back on the tenth, and the bok choy on the twenty-fourth, so I made them the same evening - hence this Doubly Delicious post!

Stir-Fried Crystal Shrimp:

This dish gets its name, Crystal Shrimp, by "washing" the shrimp in salt a couple of times before it is marinated in egg white and cornstarch, also known as velveting. This technique Grace says, gives the shrimp a crisp, crystal-like texture that the Chinese revere.

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Scallions, ginger

Bowl 2: Shrimp, egg white, cornstarch (Oops.. this is the position for the shrimp after boiling.)

Bowl 3: Peas

Bowl 4: Salt

Bowl 5: Chicken broth, dry sherry, cornstarch, white pepper

Before the actual stir-frying begins, the shrimp, after marinating for an hour, gets a quick simmer in oiled water just until they start to turn color.

The ginger and scallions are stir-fried just until fragrant, at which time the partially cooked shrimp (which have been drained well) are added along with the remaining ingredients and stir-fried until the shrimp are cooked through and are covered in a silky sauce.

I know I have said this before, but it just amazes me how delicious these meals turn out with so few ingredients, namely the seasonings in this recipe. Do buy the freshest shrimp you can find - it will make a difference.

Lucky for all you readers! This recipe is available on-line if you don't have the book yet. You gotta get the book!! And for those that do have it, you'll find it on page 160.

Surf & Turf!

May be hard to believe, as delicious as the shrimp is, we did have leftovers! I had served the shrimp with rice and the following bok choy recipe which made plenty to go around; the leftover shrimp was a great accompaniment to our dinner the next evening.

Stir-Fried Garlic Shanghai Bok Choy:

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Garlic

Bowl 2: Bok choy

Bowl 3: Salt, sugar

Bowl 4: Chicken broth, dry sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch

Did you know the proper name for baby bok choy is Shanghai bok choy? Neither did I until I did an internet search, wondering if I was even going to be able to find it. Happy to discover that everything I needed for this recipe (as well as the shrimp recipe) could be found at my local market. Love it when that is the case!

This was  a  m  a  z  i  n  g !  With just a few ingredients, it was big on flavor. This is one recipe you'll want to put into regular rotation.

So simple to make - I know, I sound like a broken record! All the recipes in this book have been easy, some a tad more involved than others, but still easy, and delicious!! And this is one that can't really be any simpler.

After a quick sauté of the garlic, the chopped bok choy is added to the wok, along with a little salt and sugar and stir-fried for a minute or so, then the broth mixture is added, and everything is stir-fried just until the bok choy is left with a slight crunch to it; crisp-tender, as the pros say.

These two recipes together made for a most wonderful meal. You'll want to serve it with some rice as I did (I went with jasmine rice), for the bok choy has a good amount of sauce that was delicious spooned over the rice.

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. You will find them on pages 160 and 220 respectively, of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.