Stir-fried shrimp with garlic and ginger

I had an electric stove for a while which wasn't very conducive to cooking in the wok. Now with our new kitchen (and to prepare Mark for Hong Kong), Chinese food is making a comeback. For a weeknight, sometimes Chinese food is the easiest thing. A little time spent on the prep (mostly, cutting things up), and really fast stir-frying, then vegging out in front of the TV or out for a weeknight beer before calling it a night.

We were feeling like a quick and easy meal the other night and I was really craving a garlicky, gingery, prawn dish that I had a lot while I was growing up. We had a bag of frozen large shrimp in the freezer, a ton of garlic (as always) in the pantry, and everything else we needed. Here's how we did it:

Thaw the shrimp in a colander, then mince a few cloves of garlic and slices of ginger together. If you want some spice, you can add one or two red chili peppers in the mince as well (we added two, and it gave just the right amount of kick for us). Once the shrimp are thawed, dry them well. In a small container, mix equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar (maybe about 2 tbsp each). Coat each shrimp in a thin layer of cornstarch. The idea is that while the shrimp fry, the cornstarch will create a coating on the shells which will help the garlic and ginger flavor stick.

Heat some oil in a wok. (I have a severe problem with letting my wok get hot enough. I'm always paranoid about the smoke alarm going off and therefore often fail to get that really nice, wok-seared flavor in my food. Maybe one day, I'll decide that flavor is better than fire safety. For now, I just open a bunch of windows.) Toss the minced stuff in and get it stirring around, then add the shrimp. Throw in the liquid, and stir, stir, stir. This isn't a sauce-based dish, just shrimp covered in garlic bits. The garlic and ginger will look caramelized and blackened, but don't worry about burning. Fry until the shrimp are firm and cooked. At the last minute, toss in some sliced green onions for color and a little more flavor. Serve with steamed rice.


That's about it. Super easy, and super tasty. The garlic gets sweet, but there's a savory kick with the soy, ginger and chili peppers. I love the garlic with rice and the flavors make the shells great to nibble on before you get the meat inside. The shrimp weren't as firm as they could have been seeing as how they were frozen, but this was a great meal for a homesick gal.