As it stands, based on some of the things said by a few of my dearie readers, there seems to be
a misconception that I spend all day slaving at a hot
stove preparing these elaborate 4 hour meals - every night!
Puuhhhleeezzz!
I have 2 little kids running around at a gazillion miles per
hour so most nights its all about meals in a jiffy. Made from scratch
of course! So lets get some
of my favorite week night meals out there - starting with this one. A quick & easy stir fry with fresh yellow squash, plump shrimp and fresh succulent snow peas. Yum!
Comfort foods in a dictionary been described as -
foods that are often emotionally significant to a person or
group of people and are sometimes related to pleasant memories of
childhood.
I can't think of a group of foods that represents all of that for me & more than Asian food. This may come as a surprise to you since my upbringing was in India but, I have been eating authentic Chinese food (Hong Kong & Shanghai provinces) for as long as I can remember. It's the one thing I remember most about our travels - I still can't get over that 'chicken wrapped in grape leaves creation' and the Peking duck in Hong Kong. Don't even get me started on the Yum Chaa....
During my time in Sydney I met HY (a Singaporean Chinese & enough with KY jokes already - he's heard it all, poor guy!) who took the time to teach me some authentic Chinese dishes in his home kitchen. He also got me hooked to weekend Yum Chaa brunches & chicken feet - yaah, it's my dirty little culinary secret - I digg chicken feet!
Up until then, though I had an understanding of Chinese food, I was pretty much fumbling around in the kitchen, left to my own devices. My years spent in Singapore, honed my skills to a point that I developed a comfort level with preparing several traditional home spun dishes like char kway teow, clay pot, hong siew tofu and several stir-fry's.
This one is my absolute favorites! Now if only some one would come along to teach me authentic Dim Sum !
The ingredients for this recipe are best separated into 3 categories -
- Fresh vegetables
- Shrimp and marinade
- Sauce
Fresh vegetables-
Gather and prepare the fresh ingredients first - yellow squash, snow leas, Thai red chilly, fresh garlic, fresh ginger and fresh shrimp.
Snow peas - Tear the ends off and string like you would green beans.
Yellow squash - Cut the ends off the squash. Cut into 1" long pieces and a little over 1/4" thick.
Ginger root - Scrape the skin off the ginger root with a knife and finely chop.
Garlic cloves - Separate cloves from a bulb. Peel & finely chop by hand or in a mini-chopper.
Thai red chillies - Cut the top off the red chilly and discard. Cut into 1/4" circles and set aside. Cook's Note - Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water to get rid of the chilly oil before touching anyone or anything else.
Shrimp and marinade -
Shrimp - Peel the raw shrimp and place in a bowl with the cornstarch, salt, pepper, sugar and sesame oil. Set aside.
Cook's Note - I use whichever size shrimp is on sale. With the exception of salad shrimp you can use any size raw shrimp. I just happened to find large shrimp (prawns) on sale today.
Sauce-
In a bowl, add the soy sauce, sriracha or hot chilly sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sugar and water or chicken stock. Stir & set aside.
To wok or
Not?
Most
people at this point would head for that wok in the kitchen cabinet.
Well, more power to you! - if you have one of those wok
burners spewing out 100,000 BTU's.
A wok is only as good as
its heat source. So it heats up in a flash - and
then as soon as you put in the first ingredient (it gives it that
wonderful smoky flavor) cools down just as rapidly
instantly turning it into a useless piece of tin. Which why you need an
immense flame to keep it very very hot.
If your kitchen is like mine and you have one of those regular stoves, I'd head for a heavy bottomed saute pan. Yes it's a dud to begin with and slowly heats up but once it does, it will stick with you to the end.
In a small saute pan or deep frying pan, add 1 cup of vegetable oil. Heat on medium high heat till hot but not smoking. Cook's Note - You will see movement sort of like ripples in the oil once it is hot.
Drop
the snow peas in the oil in 4 separate batches for a few seconds till
they turn very bright green - about 2-3 minutes . Remove immediately with a slotted spoon.
Once all the snow peas are fried, in the same oil drop in the shrimp (prawns) till they turn pink. - about 2-3 minutes .Remove immediately from the oil and set aside.
Do not overcook either the snow peas or the shrimp (better under than over in this case)
Golden rule of
stir-frying - - Start on high flame and keep it there!
Remove 4 tbs of the same oil you used for the deep frying and pour into a heavy bottomed pan or wok.
Heat the oil till fuming. Add the chopped garlic, ginger and
chilly.
As soon as the garlic starts turning a very light brown, add the cut yellow squash.
To begin with the squash retains its shape and white color. Continue sauteing for about 7 minutes or until the squash
become more translucent.
Add the snow peas and the shrimp and saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add to the stir fry and saute for 1-2 minutes till the sauce thoroughly coats the vegetable and shrimp and sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve immediately on a bed of steamed rice.
A word of caution - have your rice cooked and everyone ready
at the table as soon as the stir-fry is ready. Do not prepare this dish in advance
and keep or you will find come serving time, your snow peas have turned
an unattractive olive green!
The flavors of the shrimp and vegetables are delicate and infused with the flavor from the sauce. This is such a refreshing and healthy delicious meal.
No other accompaniments are required - well maybe some lovely jasmine tea....it's a surefire favorite with my kids as well!
Recipe for
YELLOW SQUASH, SNOW PEAS & SHRIMP STIR-FRY
Preparation time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 15 minutes
Serves 4
Shopping list
3 yellow squash
3/4 lb raw shrimp or large prawns
1 'Thai' fresh red chilly
4 cloves garlic
1" fresh ginger root
Marinade for shrimp -
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp corn starch
1-1/2 tsp sesame oil
Sauce -
2 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup chicken stock or water
1/2 tsp sriracha or hot chilli sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
Preparation -
Marinade - Shell and devein the shrimp or prawns and mix in a bowl with the marinade ingredients. Set aside.
Sauce - In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients. Stir and set aside.
Fresh produce -
Yellow squash - Cut the ends off the squash. Cut into 1" long pieces and a little over 1/4" thick.
Snow peas - Tear the ends off and string. Wash and set aside.
Ginger - Scrape the skin off the ginger root with a knife and finely chop.
Garlic - Separate cloves from a bulb. Place a chefs knife down on the cloves and hit down hard with the heel of your palm. Repeat till the skin separates from the clove. Discard garlic skin and chop the garlic cloves. Use your knife edge as a pivot and place your hand down firmly bringing the knife up and down till all the garlic has been chopped or you can use a mini chopper.
Thai red chilly - Discard top. Cut into 1/4" circles and set aside.
Cooking method-
In a small saute pan or deep frying pan, add 1 cup of vegetable oil. Heat on medium high heat till hot but not smoking.
Drop
the snow peas in the oil in 4 separate batches for a few seconds till
they turn very bright green. Immediately remove with a slotted spoon.
In the same oil, drop in the shrimp
(prawns) till they turn pink. Remove immediately from the oil and set
aside.
Keep heat on high. Remove 4 tbs of the same oil you used for the deep frying and pour into a heavy bottomed pan or wok.
Heat the oil till fuming. Add the chopped garlic, ginger and chilly. As soon as the garlic starts turning a very light brown, add the cut yellow squash.
Saute for approx 7 minutes or until the squash become more translucent. Add the snow peas and the shrimp and saute for 1-2 minutes.Give the sauce mixture in the bowl a stir. Add to the stir fry and saute for 1-2 minutes till the sauce thoroughly coats the vegetable and shrimp and sauce thickens.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Enjoy!
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