SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE, 3 TO 4 AS PART OF A MULTICOURSE MEAL
This is a classic Chinese stir-fry with its contrast of tastes and textures: a fairly irresistible mix of plush sweet shrimp, crunchy almonds, colorful vegetables, and zingy fresh lemon zest. It runs out the door whenever we put it on the menu!
Like most stir-fried dishes, the various preparations can take upwards of an hour, but they may all be done as much as a night in advance. The actual cooking takes only minutes.
Shallow-frying the almonds gives them a wonderful crunch and sheen. However, if you are oil-shy, you can bake them instead.
Marinating the shrimp in the mixture of wine, salt, egg white, and cornstarch both seasons it and protects it during cooking. The precooking in barely simmering water, a process first dubbed “velveting” by Irene Kuo in her stellar book The Key to Chinese Cooking, poaches the shrimp partway under the gentlest of conditions so that the delicate flesh never toughens in the inferno of the wok.
Do not overestimate the time it will take the velveted shrimp to cook through. In most cases, they will be done mere seconds after they are added to the wok. If you are using giant shrimp whose thickness is more than a fat thumb’s worth, cut them lengthwise in half to ensure quick cooking.
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ pound fresh shrimp, shelled, deveined, and cut lengthwise in half
AROMATICS:
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green and white scallion rings
½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes
SAUCE:
2 cups China Moon Double Stock (page 72) or unsalted chicken stock
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
3 ounces sugar snap peas
3 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch squares
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 small carrot, cut diagonally into ⅛-inch-thick coins
2 ribs celery, cut crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick commas
¼ pound baby Chinese celery cabbage, cut in half, if large
Zest of 1 scrubbed lemon, cut into very fine julienne
4 to 6 fresh water chestnuts, cut into thin coins
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold unsalted chicken stock or water
½ cup whole almonds, toasted (page 34)
It’s a good general rule when buying unfamiliar vegetables to inspect their tops and bottoms. Like people, the extremities of something edible reveal a lot about the health and goodness of what’s in the middle.
You may not know, for example, that you’re looking at a bunch of Chinese broccoli. But if the leaves are ragged and scarred, and the ends of the stalks have clearly been cut days beforehand and are dry as wood, then whatever it is won’t be very tasty. Beards on scallions and green tops on radishes and carrots—more familiar items—are similarly revealing of the age and wellness of the vegetable. A market that lops them off is a market with something to hide.
Trust your eyeballs. Inspect a vegetable at the top and the tail, and you’ll know if it’s a fresh one, even if you don’t know its name.
1. In a bowl, briskly whisk the marinade ingredients through the cornstarch until thick. Add the shrimp and toss well. Seal airtight and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Let come to room temperature and re-toss before cooking.
2. Combine the aromatics in a small bowl and cover until ready to use.
3. Combine all of the sauce ingredients through the chili sauce in a bowl. Stir to blend, leaving the spoon in the bowl.
4. Blanch the snap peas in rapidly boiling water until cooked but still crunchy, about 1 minute. Immerse in ice water to chill. Drain and set aside. All the above steps, along with cutting the vegetables, may be done a full day in advance. Seal and refrigerate the ingredients; be sure to bring them to room temperature before cooking.
5. About 15 minutes before serving, bring a small pot of water to a steaming near simmer. Add the shrimp, stir gently to separate, and cook until 60 percent opaque, about 20 seconds. Drain promptly and set aside. The shrimp will be raw in the center.
6. Heat a wok or deep heavy skillet over high heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to glaze the pan. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a scallion ring, reduce the heat to moderate and add the aromatics. Adjust the heat so they foam without browning and stir gently until fully fragrant, 15 to 30 seconds. Add the onion and stir-fry briskly until slightly translucent, 2½ to 3 minutes, adjusting the heat so they crackle without burning. Don’t worry if they pick up a bit of brown; they will be flavorful. Add the bell pepper and stir-fry until the pepper squares are slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add the carrots and celery and toss until hot, another 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle a bit more oil down the side of the pan, if needed to prevent sticking. Add the celery cabbage and toss until just slightly wilted. Add the lemon zest, snap peas, and water chestnuts, and toss together briefly to blend.
8. Stir the sauce to recombine it and add it to the pan. Turn up the heat to high, cover the pan, and bring the sauce to a simmer. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add it to the pan. Stir the sauce until glossy, 10 to 20 seconds. Add the shrimp and toss gently to mix. Serve immediately on a heated platter of contrasting color. Garnish with the almonds scattered on top.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: For me, this is a sublime one-dish meal—a good way to feel about a labor-intensive stir-fry—and I look only for a starch to complete it. Steamed or fried rice, or boiled or pan-fried pasta, would all be fine. So, too, would a hot and crusty loaf of bread.
