Chili Lemongrass Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas (辣椒檸檬葉蜜豆蝦, Laat6 Ziu1 Ning4 Mung4 Jip6 Mat6 Dau6 Haa1)

 

This recipe was updated on 06 Nov 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Lemongrass was available at my local farmer’s market and I couldn’t resist buying it. Like its name, lemongrass has a lemon flavor and looks like a long (about 2 ft. or 60 cm.) thick green stalk of grass. The outer leaves are tough and inedible, so you have to remove the outer layers to reveal the softer inner core, which is edible and a small part of the stalk near the root. The inner core is sliced finely and stir fried with dried red peppers to flavor the oil used in this shrimp dish. Sugar snap peas add the crunch to this dish. Depending upon your tolerance for heat, you can use more or less red chili peppers.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Prawn or shrimp meat (蝦仁, haa1 jan4)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Tapioca starch (木薯澱粉, muk6 syu4 din6 fan2)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Sugar snap peas (蜜豆, mat6 dau6)
8	8	Dried red chili peppers (指天椒, zi2 tin1 ziu1) ), cut into ½-inch (15 mm) pieces – to taste
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
3 stalks	3 stalks	Lemongrass (檸檬葉, ning4 mung4 jip6), white inner core sliced thinly
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen prawn or shrimp, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Shell and devein the shrimp, and place the shrimp back into the covered container. Submerge the shrimp with water and some ice, and add the baking soda for 30 minutes. Discard the water and wash the baking soda from the shrimp.
2. Marinate the shrimp overnight with the ginger crushed in a garlic press, tapioca starch, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In the USA, the names prawn and shrimp are used interchangeably, with prawn usually meaning a large shrimp; either will work in this dish. Take the shrimp out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each sugar snap pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the sugar snap pea with the other.
4. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
5. Remove any stems from the dried red chili peppers, cut into ½-inch (15 mm) pieces, and place into the bowl with the crushed ginger and garlic. The amount of red chili peppers to use in this dish depends upon personal taste, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
6. Remove the tough outer leaves of the lemongrass, as these parts are inedible, exposing the softer white inner core near the root. Cut the white inner core into thin pieces and mix into the bowl with the ginger and garlic.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the shrimp to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and stir fry until the shrimp just turn pink. The shrimp should look undercooked. You may have to cook the shrimp in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the sugar snap peas. Stir fry the sugar snap peas to brown them. Add the bowl with the lemongrass mixture and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the lemongrass mixture becomes fragrant. Add the contents of the bowl with the shrimp back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
3. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some liquid (stock or water) to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.