Shrimp with Lobster Sauce (Shrimp Cantonese)

[titus wong]

Shrimp with Lobster Sauce (Shrimp Cantonese)

Serves 4 as Main Dish.

After perusing an old topic, I decided to post this recipe in the hopes that someone will find it useful. BTW, the name of the dish refers to the style in which the shrimp are prepared, not to the actual inclusion of lobster as an ingredient. The idea is analogous to "Chicken Fried Steak." A better name might be "Shrimp in the style of Lobster," which is a bit cumbersome to say the least.

As for the alternate name, "Shrimp Cantonese," I can't vouch for its authenticity, save that I clearly recall seeing it on the menus of various restaurants in NY's Chinatown when I was growing up. "Lobster Cantonese" however, was the prime variation. I believe that someone on the Chinese food board has already opined that Shrimp Cantonese is the poor man's version of Lobster Cantonese, which sounds quite plausible to me.

Given that lobster is so expensive, I've substituted crab on one occasion, deep-fried and hacked into smaller pieces. I thought it worked very well, except that my guests were not accustomed to eating crab at the table, which proved to be a miscalculation on my part. One of my favorite childhood memories is that of the entire family gathered around the dinner table, cracking shells and digging out nuggets of crabmeat with unabashed gusto. If someone can offer any suggestions as to how to best prepare this dish with lobster or crab, I would be very grateful.

One final point -- I've included shrimp brains as an ingredient here. Although optional, it contributes a lot to the overall flavor of the dish. I suspect a lot of home cooks do the same with their shrimp dishes, and I would appreciate any input on this practice.

• 1 lb shrimp with heads, shelled and deveined, heads reserved (opt.)
  
• 1 T sherry
  
• 2 T fermented black beans, minced and mashed with a cleaver along with
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• &
  
• 2 scallions, chopped
  
• 4 slices ginger, minced
  
• 8 oz ground pork
  
• 1 dash, white pepper
  
• 1 T dark soy
  
• 1/2 cp. chicken stock
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  
• 2 T corn, peanut, or canola oil
  
• 1-1/2 T cornstarch mixed with 1 T. water
  

1. Soak fermented black beans in enough water to cover for at least 5 min. Drain and combine with garlic cloves. With a cleaver, mince the black beans and garlic together until a paste-like consistency is achieved. Much, much better than bottled black bean sauce.

2. Shell and devein the shrimp. If you opt to reserve the heads, squeeze the red matter from each one with your hands onto a separate plate and discard the shell. You may wish to use gloves, as the spines on the shrimp make this a prickly process. Prepare all the other ingredients and set them aside.

3. In a hot wok or sauté pan, add one T. oil and swirl until the sides are evenly coated. Add shrimp add quickly stir-fry until the color changes. When they appear half-cooked, add sherry and continue cooking until it boils away or until the shrimp are just cooked. Remove them from pan and set aside.

4. Reheat the wok and add remaining oil. Add black beans/garlic, scallions, and ginger. Stir briskly until fragrant. Add ground pork and continue stirring until all the ingredients are well-incorporated and the meat is broken up. Add white pepper, soy, chicken stock, reserved shrimp brains, and egg. Continue stirring until the pork and egg have completely cooked. Add the cooked shrimp and the cornstarch/water mixture. Stir briefly until well-incorporated. Remove from heat and serve immediately with white rice.

Keywords: Chinese, Shrimp, Main Dish, Seafood, Intermediate, Dinner

( RG578 )