SAM ON THE RADIO:
Cooking to Beat the Clock on A Chef's Table

Stir-Frys Fly By
Spicy Shrimp and Snow Peas 

Years ago in Philadelphia’s Chinatown I frequented a restaurant with a large kitchen window. As I watched from the sidewalk, I was amazed at how quickly each meal was stir-fried to completion. What makes stir-frys cook so fast?

First, everything is ready when the cooking starts. Equipment is out of the cupboards. Meat and vegetables are chopped. Spices and sauce ingredients are waiting to be mixed. Once the cooking starts there’s no time to go fishing around the fridge for ginger or the pantry for soy sauce. Total cooking time, as in the recipe below, is only a few minutes.

The second factor is the wok, the bowl-shaped cooking utensil the Chinese use for stir frys (as well as braising, steaming, and deep frying). Most American stove tops are not equipped to handle a wok, though you can fiddle a bit to make it work better. For example, invert the ring that comes with the wok so the wok sits closer to the flame. This can provide more stability as well as greater heat intensity. (Stir-frys are always cooked on high eat. Electric stoves at full blast usually provide more heat than gas ranges.)

If you find using a traditional wok a bit daunting, try a hybrid wok skillet, which has a handle like a traditional skillet and the deep bowl of a wok. You can also stir-fry in large saute pans.

The capacity of the skillet or wok is important. If it’s too crowded, you’ve got a stir-steam instead of a stir-fry. That’s why in the recipe below, the shrimp, garlic, and ginger are cooked first, then removed to let the snow peas and scallions cook before all the ingredients are combined.

It may not be traditional for Chinese stir-frys, but chopping garlic and ginger with a food processor is faster than using a knife. The food processor also becomes a good vessel for mixing the sauce ingredients.

You can cut down on preparation time by using peeled, raw shrimp and by not deveining them. Leaving the tails on saves time too and makes the dish more attractive.

Spicy Shrimp and Snow Peas

1 cup basmati rice
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
4 scallions
One 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts
3 cloves garlic
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil, preferably toasted Asian style
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
11/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 pound peeled raw shrimp, no larger than 21 to 24 per pound
12 ounces snow peas

1)While the hot-water tap runs, put the rice in a 2-quart saucepan. Add 2 cups hot tap water and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep covered until ready to serve. (Or put the rice, 2 cups hot water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 2-quart microwave-safe container. Cover and put in a microwave oven on high power for 10 minutes. Keep covered until ready to serve.)

2)Meanwhile, trim the scallions and thinly slice the white part and 1 inch of the green, crosswise. Set aside. Open the can of water chestnuts, drain and set aside.

3)Peel the garlic. Peel and halve the ginger. With the motor of a food processor running, drop the garlic and ginger down the chute and finely chop. Turn off the motor and scrape the garlic and ginger into a small bowl. Set aside. Put the cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock, and red pepper flakes into the food processor and turn on the machine for 15 seconds to mix well. Leave the mixture in the food processor. (Garlic and ginger may be chopped by hand. Sauce ingredients may be mixed in a  bowl with a small whisk.)

4)Put the peanut oil in a wok or 12-inch saute pan over high heat. Season the shrimp with salt. Add the garlic, ginger, and shrimp to the wok and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove to a platter. Put the scallions and snow peas in the wok and cook for 1 minute. Return the shrimp to the wok. Add the water chestnuts and sauce mixture. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through and the sauce is lightly thickened. Check for salt. Serve the shrimp and snow peas over the rice.

Serves 4.

Per serving:  426 calories,  33 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrate, 11 grams fat, 1.7 grams saturated fat, 173 mg cholesterol, 1112 mg sodium.