Shrimp, Broccoli, and Shitake Mushroom Stir Fry
Last week I decided it was time for me to finally put together a video on how to stir-fry. I had already made more than enough trips to the grocery store, so I decided this video was going to have to be made with whatever was in my fridge. Luckily you can throw almost any combination of ingredients into a stir-fry and know that it will likely taste pretty darn good.
After a minute of digging around, I came up with a bag of frozen shrimp, a head of broccoli, and some shitake mushrooms. Frozen shrimp always comes in handy for instances like these – you know those “I need a protein. Crap, I have nothing fresh!” moments that all of us have. Luckily, frozen shrimp defrosts quickly and prep is minimal, so it’s an excellent option for these last minute dinner decisions. If you’re not sure how to work with it (totally ok – seafood scares a lot of people), check out the 1 minute video below.
Since I always keep onions, garlic, shallots, soy sauce, corn starch, and chicken stock around, I was ready to rock my wok and have the cameras roll. Not surprisingly, the dish came out great (and pretty photogenic too, right?). To replicate these same results, just follow these basic stir-frying principles:
- Toss proteins in a bit of corn starch, which adds texture and gives the protein more color when seared
- Chop vegetables (in this case broccoli and mushrooms) into small, similar-sized pieces so they’ll cook quickly and evenly
- Add vegetables one at a time based on how long they take to cook. In this case, we started with the onion, then added the broccoli 2 minutes later, and then added the shitake mushrooms 2 minutes after that
Ready to rock your wok?
Helpful tools: 1) Mesh strainer; 2) Prep bowls; 3) Collapsible prep bowls; 4) Tongs; 5) Non-stick wok
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- Frozen shrimp – 1 lb.
- Garlic cloves, minced – 2
- Onion, chopped – 1
- Broccoli, chopped – 1 crown
- Shitake mushrooms, sliced – ¼ lb.
- Corn starch – 1 tbs. + 2 tsp.
- Soy sauce – 2 tbs.
- Rice vinegar – 1 tsp.
- Brown sugar (or other sweetener) – ½ tbs.
- Chicken stock – ½ cup
- Grapeseed or canola oil – 2 tbs.
- Lemon juice – ½ tbs.
- Broccoli, chopped – 1 crown
- Shitake mushrooms, sliced – ¼ lb.
- Lemon juice – ½ tbs.
- Shrimp – Defrost shrimp. Rinse and dry with paper towels
- Garlic, onion, broccoli, mushrooms – Chop as directed
- Toss shrimp with 1 tbs. of corn starch and season with salt & pepper
- Make sauce by mixing together soy sauce, vinegar, sweetener, 2 tsp. corn starch, and chicken stock
- Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbs. oil and then shrimp to heated oil. Saute shrimp until outside is golden – it doesn’t have to be cooked through all the way. Remove from pan and set aside
- Return pan to medium-high heat, and add remaining oil. Add garlic and then chopped onions with a dash of salt. Saute onions until softened, ~2 minutes
- Add broccoli with a dash of salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes and then add sliced shitake mushrooms, also with a dash of salt
- Add shrimp back in shortly after the shitakes. Push all ingredients to the side of the pan to form a donut in the middle. Give sauce mixture a stir in case corn starch has sunk to bottom. Pour into the center of the pan. Wait for mixture to darken and bubble a lot. Then toss to coat everything
- Cook until shrimp is done (you’ll just have to cut into a piece or take a bite). Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Season to taste with salt & pepper