Stir-Fried Ginger Shrimp

These are wonderfully messy shrimp that were meant to be eaten with fingers, chopsticks or forks. Since this stir fry is so good cold on a salad of mixed greens, I've provided for leftovers in the recipe.

Allow 30 minutes to an hour for marinating and 3 to 4 minutes for stir-frying. Eat the shrimp hot from the pan or warm. To protect from any kind of spoilage, don't let them stand at room temperature more than about 20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons rice wine, or dry sherry

• 1 teaspoon Chinese toasted sesame seed oil

• 1 packed teaspoon dark brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons rice or cider vinegar

• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 1 pound raw jumbo shrimp, shelled with tail section left intact

• 3 tablespoons cold-pressed vegetable or seed oil (safflower, canola or peanut)

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 large whole scallion, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Thirty minutes to an hour before cooking, combine the soy, wine, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic in a medium bowl. Toss with the shrimp, cover and refrigerate.

2. Remove from the fridge, and remove the shrimp from the marinade, scraping it off them and saving it in the bowl. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan over high heat. Drop in the shrimp, quickly sprinkle with a little salt and a generous amount of pepper. Stir fry about 3 minutes, or until they turn pink and are barely firm.

4. Scrape the marinade and scallions into the pan. Continue stir-frying another minute, or until shrimp are just firm, but not hard and rubbery. Immediately turn into a serving bowl. Serve hot or warm.