Hot & Sour Shrimp with Watercress & Walnuts
Submitted by Jamie2002
Hot and sour shrimp stir-fry tosses sherry-and-ginger marinated shrimp with red bell pepper and scallions, then spoons over wilted watercress and crowns with toasted walnuts. Bright Asian-fusion supper.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
10 minREADY
55 minThis stir-fry from a 1991 Bon Appetit takes the hot-and-sour idea (sherry vinegar tang, cayenne heat, ginger bite) and lets it crash into a colorful plate of shrimp, bell pepper, and peppery watercress. The wilted greens make a dark, glossy bed instead of the usual rice, and toasted walnuts on top add the crunch the sauce needs.
The shrimp marinate just long enough to take on the ginger and dry sherry without going mushy. The sauce is built ahead in one bowl: chicken stock, soy, ketchup, cornstarch, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and cayenne, ready to splash in once everything else is cooked.
Stir-frying happens in stages so each ingredient cooks at peak. Walnuts first to toast, then watercress to wilt, then bell peppers and garlic, finally shrimp and scallions before the sauce. The cornstarch thickens it into a glossy coat as it bubbles.
Pro Tips
- Get the wok screaming hot before adding oil. Stir-fry is high-heat cooking; lukewarm pans give you steamed shrimp.
- Butterfly the shrimp by slicing partway down the back. They curl into prettier crescents and absorb sauce better.
- Pre-mix the sauce so it goes in fast. Stopping to measure mid-stir-fry overcooks the shrimp.
- Don’t crowd the watercress. Wilt it in two batches if your wok is small.
Variations
- Swap watercress for spinach or baby bok choy if watercress isn’t available.
- Use cashews or pine nuts instead of walnuts for a different toasted-nut profile.
- Add a tablespoon of black bean sauce to the marinade for a richer, more savory Cantonese spin.
Ingredients
Directions
Spinach would be an excellent substitution for the watercress that the recipe calls for.
Any kind of nut could be used instead of walnuts.
And rice of course.
A light marinade of Sherry and ginger flavors the shrimp, which are stir-fried with red bell peppers and green onions.
Watercress makes a colorful bed for the shrimp.
Combine shrimp, 2 tablespoons Sherry and grated ginger in large bowl.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Mix remaining 2 tablespoons Sherry, chicken stock, soy sauce, ketchup, cornstarch, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and cayenne pepper in small bowl.
Heat 2 teaspoons peanut oil in wok or heavy large skillet over high heat.
Add walnuts and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Transfer walnuts to plate using slotted spoon.
Add watercress to wok and stir-fry until just wilted, about 1 minute.
Divide watercress among plates.
Add 2 teaspoons peanut oil, bell peppers and garlic to wok and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add remaining 2 teaspoons peanut oil, shrimp mixture and onions and stir- fry for 1 minute.
Stir stock mixture, add to wok and cook sauce until clear and thick, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.
Spoon sauce and shrimp over watercress.
Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.
NOTE: I used Jufran sauce rather than ketchup.
Jufran is a Philippino sauce that’s looks and tastes much like ketchup.
It’s made from bananas and other stuff, however and has a more complex and interesting taste.
I use it in place of ketchup in many recipes as well as on hamburgers, hot dogs and corn dogs.
It comes in both mild and hot forms.
The mild is not too hot++somewhat like a spicy ketchup.
The hot stuff is much hotter, although not intolerably so.
If you use this, be prudent about how much cayenne you use, at least the first time until you can see how they balance out.
Makes four servings; about 265 calories per serving.
Bon Appetit, February, 1991.
Posted by Stephen Ceideburg; January 20 1991.
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