Stir-Fried Shrimp With Black Beans
Published March 25, 2008
Evan Sung for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, sold in Asian markets
2 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
About 1 ½ pounds uncooked shrimp, in the 20 to 30 per pound size range, peeled
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, sliced, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 pound bok choy or other cabbage, trimmed, washed and dried
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger
¾ cup chicken stock or white wine, optional
¼ cup minced scallions
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
11 grams carbs; 275 milligrams cholesterol; 301 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 1035 milligrams sodium; 39 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Soak black beans in sherry, wine or water. In large bowl, marinate shrimp in ½ teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sliced garlic, salt and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
- Step 2
Separate bok choy leaves from stems; chop stems into ½ - to 1-inch pieces, and roughly chop leaves.
- Step 3
Preheat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and raise heat to high. When it begins to smoke, add minced garlic and, immediately thereafter, shrimp and its marinade. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon it out of wok or skillet.
- Step 4
Put remaining peanut oil in wok or skillet and, when it smokes, add ginger, followed immediately by bok choy stems. Cook, stirring, until bok choy is lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes, then add leaves. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add ¾ cup water, stock or white wine and let it bubble away for a minute.
- Step 5
Return shrimp to wok or skillet and stir; add black beans and their liquid, scallions, and remaining sugar and soy sauce. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Turn off heat, drizzle remaining sesame oil on top, and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
This is the classic “I riffed on the recipe rather than making it” note, but my riff was killer, so I’m sharing. I made this with extra firm tofu replacing shrimp; broccoli and onion replacing bok choy. Doubled wine and black beans, as well as soy sauce; added a couple tablespoons more slivered ginger. It was amazing and one of the most satisfying black bean sauced stir fries I’ve ever made, with the bonus of not thickening the sauce with starch, which I never really like doing.
Re: omitting the sugar: If you can find palm sugar (readily available at Asian markets), use in place of granulated cane sugar and you will find it makes a great difference. Cane sugar is overpowering while palm sugar is perfect. It is the sugar meant to be used in this type of S.E. Asian dish. The sugars come vacuum packed in plastic. Each is about the size of a hockey puck, so with a small serrated knife scrape off the amount needed and store the remaining in a tightly sealed glass jar.
Marinating was a good idea. I also omitted the sugar and thickened the liquid with just a bit of corn starch at the end
This one deserves more reviews. Delicious and quick. I made as directed (well, okay, I eyeballed the measurements), except bok choy season is also garlic scape season where I live, so I added some of those at the same time as the bok choy stems. And I thickened up the sauce with a bit of cornstarch.
Used scallop Omit sugar, Less soy sauce make the dish more palatable. Bok choy flavor be more prominent and that’s good per our family taste
I only changed two things. I left out the black beans because I couldn’t find them and reduced the liquid at the end with no extra sugar. Ok. Three things. But it was PERFECT and fresh and delicious.