Stir-Fried Shrimp with Black Beans
They might sit there, unnoticed and undisturbed, in your fridge or cabinet, for weeks or months or even longer. But they’re waiting — or at least they should be — until your stir-fries need a jolt of distinctive, impossible-to-mistake flavor that nothing else can give you.
They are fermented black beans, and in an Asian market a dollar or two buys a pound, a supply that will last you a long time because you use only a tablespoon or two at a time.
The beans in question are black soybeans, not the black turtle beans used in Latin American cooking. Salting ferments them, turning them soft, bitter, odd-tasting and, in small quantities at least, delicious.
The most common way to use them is in stir-fries, though you can also mince them with garlic and ginger, for example, and rub them on meat you plan to roast or grill, or sprinkle them on fish you plan to steam.
2 tablespoons fermented black beans (sold in Asian markets)
2 tablespoons white wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 pounds shrimp uncooked, 20 to 30 per lb size range, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic sliced and 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sesame oil dark
1 pound bok choy or other cabbage, trimmed, washed and dried
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ginger minced or grated
3/4 cup chicken broth or white wine, optional
1/4 cup scallions minced
1. Soak black beans in sherry, wine or water. In large bowl, marinate shrimp in 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sliced garlic, salt and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
2. Separate bok choy leaves from stems; chop stems into 1/2 - to 1-inch pieces, and roughly chop leaves.
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.
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 3/4 cup water, stock or white wine and let it bubble away for a minute.
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.