WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Chinese long beans make a dramatic and exotic presentation alongside sweet pink shrimp in this light stir-fry. Traditional= Chinese recipes for these serpentine beans employ a double-cooking technique of deep frying followed by stir-frying, which renders them tender and juicy. We wanted to nod toward this tradition, but without the hassle of deep frying. Since long beans can be a couple of feet in length, cooking them by any method wasn’t without challenges. Fitting the beans into the typical home cook’s 12-inch skillet was our first hurdle. We decided to cut them in half—however, they were still very long beans. Microwaving the beans jump-started the cooking process and also made them more pliable for getting them into the skillet. Stir-frying the beans in batches allowed for the desired charring and blistering. We then cooked the shrimp with fresh ginger and garlic and built the finishing sauce with chicken broth, oyster sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. The savory sauce thickened to just the right consistency to lightly glaze the shrimp and beans.
Serves: 4
Total time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1½ pounds long beans, trimmed and halved
- 1 pound large shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Whisk broth, oyster sauce, sherry, sesame oil, vinegar, cornstarch and white pepper together in bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ginger, and garlic in small bowl; set aside.
- Combine long beans and ¼ cup water in large bowl. Cover and microwave until beans are pliable, 7 to 9 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving. Drain beans, transfer to paper towel–lined plate, and pat dry.
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of long beans in single layer and cook, without stirring, until beans begin to blister and char, about 3 minutes. Stir and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are just softened and well charred, about 3 minutes. Transfer beans to serving platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm. Repeat with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and remaining beans; transfer to platter.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in now-empty skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add shrimp in single layer and cook, without stirring, until shrimp turn opaque and brown around edges, about 1 minute. Push shrimp to sides of skillet. Add ginger-garlic mixture to center and cook, mashing mixture into skillet, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir mixture into shrimp; transfer to platter.
- Whisk broth mixture to recombine, then add to again-empty skillet. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and reduced slightly, about 1 minute. Return beans and shrimp to skillet and gently toss to coat with sauce. Serve.
