Chinese seafood recipe

How to Prepare / Make / Cook - ?Chinese seafood recipe

This has always been a popular American-Chinese dish, and it was a favorite in our original restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There is no lobster in the dish at all. Rather, the shrimp is cooked in the type of sauce the Cantonese use for lobster. You can omit the pork if you wish.

1 pound medium or large shrimp, shelled
2 teaspoons dry sherry
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ¼ cups water
¼ pound ground lean pork (about ½ cup)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
¼ teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons canola, corn, or peanut oil
2 slices unpeeled gingerroot, 1 X 1/8 inch each
2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, minced
Salt
1 egg, beaten

1. Cut a slit along the back of the shrimp and pull out and discard the vein. Rinse the shrimp in cold water, drain, and place in a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the sherry and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch and mix well. Set aside.

2. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with ¼ cup of the water. Set aside. Mix the pork with the remaining teaspoon sherry, the soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or stir-fry pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Test by dipping the end of a shrimp into the oil; it should sizzle. Stir up the shrimp mixture again, pour it into the pan, and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp is just pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving as much oil as you can in the pan.

4. Add the gingerroot, garlic, and black beans to the same pan and stir a few times. Add the pork mixture. Stir about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and lower the heat. Simmer for 2 minutes and taste carefully for seasoning. Add a small amount salt, if needed.

5. Uncover the pan and return the shrimp to the pan. Discard the gingerroot and garlic, if desired. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir until thickened. Pour the beaten egg into the pan in a thin stream. Give 2 big stirs. Serve hot.