11.20.2009

Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry

8:30 breakfast. Homework with the boy and a quick playtime with the kids.
Off to 10:15 class for the little girl. 
10:30 back for some paper work, prep and cook for lunch. Serve lunch. Fetch the girl at 12. 
12:30 lunch. Off to 1:30 class for the boy.  Dash to the grocery, girl and nanny in tow. 
3:45 snack. Fetch the boy before 5. Home by 5:30. 
Take a breather. Quick shower at 6. Leave at 7 to meet the ladies for dinner.
So what happened with my day?!? This was yesterday.
This is a typical day for me except for the grocery shopping and dinner with my girlfriends which only happens weekly and monthly respectively.

You can hardly notice that I only had a window between 6:30 and 7:00 last night. And I failed to anticipate how busy my day would be. Lucky for me, I had some frozen white shrimps bought a week ago (by lunchtime, I already took it out of the freezer to thaw), which gave me an idea for a seafood course -- fresh, fast, flavorful. Or maybe they would rather order in than eat my express, not-so-thought-out dish? Too late.

At the grocery, after filling up our cart and doing the rounds, I went back for these long stemmed fresh asparagus which I thought would match nicely with the shrimps. Broccoli was my first choice but it was still too expensive, and it has been quite a while since I last bought a bundle of these lovely spears.

Just a tip:  For stir-fry, only use the tender part. You can bend one spear to check where it snaps, and that's a guide where you can cut off the bottom part, usually the lower 1/4 or 1/3 end .  Save the ends which you can boil and use as vegetable stock for soups.

I peeled and marinated the shrimps in the cooking wine before I took a shower. Wash off those stinky fingers!

Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry 
300 grams white shrimps, peeled and marinated in Chinese cooking wine / rice wine
200 grams fresh asparagus
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons sliced button mushrooms
2 tablespoons premium oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon corn starch diluted in approx. 3 tablespoon water
pepper
sesame oil
Wash asparagus spears, break off lower end.  Take the upper tender part and chop in half. Set aside. Prepare cornstarch-water.

A foreword:  I am fortunate to have a 5-burner stove top so I did everything below simultaneously.  This may seem tedious but it really is very simple and easy to do once you get organized.

In a small pot, bring water to a boil.
(Around 2 cups water for blanching the asparagus. Though some may opt to skip this part and proceed to stir-fry the fresh asparagus, I just like mine to be cooked through yet still have a bite to it.  Same goes for broccoli.)

Heat a pan with a little vegetable oil. At medium to high heat, sautee minced garlic until light brown and toss in the shrimps and mushrooms.

Then over to the pot, blanch the asparagus in the rolling boiling water in less than 2 minutes. While blanching, continue to sautee the shrimps, mushrooms, and add in the oyster sauce. Lower heat.

Now scoop out the asparagus and throw into the stir-fry. Mix well until shrimps are all pink and done. Taste. Add a bit more oyster sauce if desired. Pour in the starch-water to thicken. Add pepper and drops of sesame oil.  Toss until well coated.

Serve immediately.

"Mmm...that smells yummy mommy!"  Music to me ears. She just can't wait for me to bring it to the table, and attempted to have a lick as I took a photo! Shrimps are a favorite of hers.

Before I left for my night out, I quickly forked two shrimps and a few spears...shrimps were naturally sweet and well done, and greens with a bite...I can declare this an instant success.

This recipe will work great with broccoli as well. You can use scallops with this dish too, instead of shrimps!