Chinese Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lobster Sauce Recipe

Serves/Makes: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound raw small shrimps in their shells (about 26 to 30 to the pound)
• 1/4 cup peanut oil or flavorless vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons fermented black beans, chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1/4 pound lean pork, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 scallion, including green top, finely chopped
• 1 cup chicken stock, fresh or canned
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold chicken stock or cold water
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

How to cook Chinese Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lobster Sauce:

• Shell the shrimp but leave the tail shell attached. With a small, sharp knife, devein the shrimp by making a shallow incision down their backs and lifting out the black or white intestinal veins with the point of the knife. Wash the shrimp under cold running water, pat them dry with paper towels and set them aside.
• Have the shrimp, oil, wine, pork, garlic, black beans, salt, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, scallions, chicken stock, cornstarch mixture and beaten eggs within easy reach.
• Set a 12-inch wok or 10-inch skillet over high heat for 30 seconds. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil, swirl it about in the pan and heat for another 30 seconds, turning the heat down to moderate if the oil begins to smoke.
• Drop in the shrimp and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until the shrimp turn pink. Stir in the wine, then remove the shrimp mixture to a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add the fermented black beans and garlic, and stir for a few seconds, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the pork and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the soy sauce, salt, sugar, pepper, scallions and reserved shrimp, then pour in the chicken stock. Cover the pan and bring the stock to a boil.
• Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to recombine it and add it to the pan. When the sauce has thickened and become clear – about 30 seconds – pour in the beaten eggs in a slow stream, meanwhile, with a large spoon, lifting the contents of the pan gently from the sides so that the eggs merge with all the ingredients without any further cooking.
• Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a heated platter and serve at once.

Note:
The Chinese name for the Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lobster Sauce dish is Tou Shih Hsia Jen.

Comments:
The somewhat confusing name for this dish does not mean, as you might think, that there is lobster in the sauce. It indicates that the shrimp is made with the same sauce used to prepare Lobster Cantonese Style.

This recipe for Chinese Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lobster Sauce serves/makes: 4

Main Ingredient: Shrimp
Preparation Method: Pan Fried/Sauteed
Cuisine: Chinese