Stir-Fried Shrimp with Black Beans

Chinese black beans give this stir-fry deep flavor. It’s slightly more involved than the previous recipe, only because you make a quick flavorful stock with the shrimp shells. If you don’t want to go that route, or you’re substituting a protein other than shrimp, simply skip making the stock and use 1 cup water, white wine, or sake in its place. Other protein you can use: similar-sized scallops (or larger, though they’ll take longer to cook); shucked or unshucked clams or mussels; shelled lobster; peeled crawfish; thinly sliced beef sirloin or pork or lamb shoulder; cut-up boneless chicken thighs; or tofu cubes.

About 11/2 pounds shrimp, 20 to 30 per pound

1 tablespoon fermented black beans

2 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine

11/2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, sliced, plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1 pound bok choy or any cabbage, trimmed, washed, and dried

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup chopped scallion

• Peel the shrimp. Put the shells in a medium saucepan with 1 cup water, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook while you work on the rest of the recipe, about 10 minutes. Soak the black beans in the sherry.
• Put the shrimp in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the sliced garlic, the salt, and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Give it a good stir and let sit while you assemble the other ingredients.
• Separate the bok choy leaves from the stems; chop the stems into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces and chop the leaves. Drain the shrimp shells, reserving 3/4 cup of the stock.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and raise the heat to high. When it begins to smoke, add the minced garlic and, immediately thereafter, the shrimp and its marinade. Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon it out of the skillet.
• Put the remaining peanut oil in the skillet and, when it smokes, add the ginger, followed immediately by the bok choy stems. Cook, stirring, until the bok choy is lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes, then add the greens.
• Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add the shrimp stock and let it bubble away for a minute or two.
• Return the shrimp to the skillet and stir; add the black beans and their liquid, the scallion, and the remaining sugar and soy sauce. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, drizzle on the remaining sesame oil, and serve.
  Stir-Fried Shrimp with Cashews.
  • Omit the black beans and sherry. In Step 5, add 1/2 cup cashews to the pan along with the ginger.
• MAKES: 4 servings
• TIME: 30 minutes