Connie’s notes
You can cut down on prep time tremendously if you can get shrimps that had already been peeled and deveined. If you have to do the job yourself, here is a quick guide.
First, rinse the shrimps and drain well. Grab the shrimp with one hand and pull the head with the other hand.
Turn the shrimp with the legs facing you. Place your thumbs where the legs are then press and push outward to loosen the shell. Once the shell is loose, you can easily peel it off. The shell might not come off in one piece. If it does not, peel by section.
Hold the shrimp with the back facing upward. Take a knife and slide the blade along the length of the shrimp about an eighth of an inch deep. This will expose a black thread running through the length of the shrimp. The black thread is the animal’s digestive system. Just lift the thread, pull it out and discard.
To make sure the shrimps are primed for stir frying, spread them on a plate lined with paper towels, cover with more paper towels and press down lightly to remove surface moisture.
First, rinse the shrimps and drain well. Grab the shrimp with one hand and pull the head with the other hand.
Turn the shrimp with the legs facing you. Place your thumbs where the legs are then press and push outward to loosen the shell. Once the shell is loose, you can easily peel it off. The shell might not come off in one piece. If it does not, peel by section.
Hold the shrimp with the back facing upward. Take a knife and slide the blade along the length of the shrimp about an eighth of an inch deep. This will expose a black thread running through the length of the shrimp. The black thread is the animal’s digestive system. Just lift the thread, pull it out and discard.
To make sure the shrimps are primed for stir frying, spread them on a plate lined with paper towels, cover with more paper towels and press down lightly to remove surface moisture.Ingredients
- 12 to 16 medium shrimps peeled and deveined
- salt
- pepper
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil divided
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 small carrot peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 small white cabbage diced
- ¼ pound shimeji mushrooms root ends cut off
- ½ pound fresh egg noodles prepared according to package directions
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 12 quail eggs cooked and shelled
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
Instructions
- Remove the heads, shell and devein the shrimps. Place in a bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat one tablespoon oil in a wok or frying pan. Over medium heat, saute the garlic and onion until softened and aromatic, about two minutes.
- Turn up the heat. Add the bell pepper, carrot, cabbage and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir fry until the vegetables are cooked but still lightly crisp, about two minutes. Scoop out the vegetables and transfer to a plate.
- Pour in another tablespoon of oil into the wok or frying pan and heat.
- Stir fry the seasoned shrimps taking care not to overcook them. Depending on their size, this can take anywhere from a mere thirty seconds to a minute and a half. Scoop out the shrimps and transfer to a plate.
- Pour the last tablespoon of oil into the wok or frying pan. Swirl the pan around to allow the oil to coat the sides too.
- Dump the noodles in the hot oil and, working fast, stir fry to coat every strand with oil. This will prevent them from turning soggy.
- Pour the soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce over the noodles. Stir fry until the noodles are evenly colored.
- Add the vegetables, quail eggs and half of the shrimps to the noodles, and stir fry until everything is heated through.
- Turn off the heat. Drizzle in the sesame seed oil and toss.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Scatter the rest of the cooked shrimps over the stir fried vegetables and noodles.
- Serve the shrimp chow mein at once.
Chinese American-style bang bang bang chicken
