The picture does not give it justice.. we were very anxious to start eating..
This is a shorter version of the familiar, but the technology is slightly changed – for more than 3 people it is difficult to time the delivery correctly.. the frying pan or the available heat supply are usually not adequate. Here i rely on
- a large heavy flat pan to accommodate the frying, the sauce, and the final mixture of shrimp in sauce and
- a fairly large flat steamer, to accommodate all shrimps at once.
So here we are:
- some shrimp – i would plan no less than 150g per person
- some green veg – green celery works very well – again, the amounts depend on what you like – i would start with 1 large stick per person and go from there
- some form of the hot chilly sauce – i usually have the Chinese squeeze bottle in the fridge
- whipping cream of half-and-half stuff – whatever you diet allows; again, i find roughly 100 ml per person is a good planning guide
- some oil – a spoonful?
- some green stuff like chopped parsley, .. to decorate.
- If you need to do so, thaw the shrimp and remove the hard parts, unless you prefer to consume the shells etc. – which i know some of us do with the vengeance..
- Clean and chop the veg into rather small (but identifiable!) pieces.
- Prepare the steamer and the frying pan. I find that spreading a thin layer of oil across the metal steamer leaves helps in later manipulations a lot – prevents the shrimp from sticking to the surface of the steamer.
- When all set (water in the steamer getting hot, the frying pan hot) put some oil on the frying pan.
- Add veggies, stir fry without burning them.
- Add chili sauce – the amount depends on what your diners will bear – but start small, you can always add more..
- Stir, let it all mash together.
- On a boiling steamer throw the shrimps – make sure they are as evenly spread as possible. Cover.
- Add cream to sauce, as much as seems sensible, stir. Maintain simmering temperature.
- Stir the shrimp – try to get them evenly pink.
- When all pink, throw them into the sauce, make sure it boils, then take off the heat.
- Check for spicing – i usually find salt is not at all needed, but you may want to make sure. Put some fresh green leaves on top, for colour.
Serve – possibly mixed with good pasta, or in soup bowls with some decent baguette..