Dec 14 Broccoli Shrimp Stir Fry

• 1/4 medium onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, smashed or pressed
• scant 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small mild red pepper (such as a red bell pepper), chopped
• 1 small bunch broccoli cut into florets with stems thinly sliced
• 1/2 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes
• Freshly ground sichuan pepper to taste
• water or broth (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water to make a slurry
• generous splash of soy sauce to taste
• salt to taste

I am by no means an expert in Chinese cuisine or cooking. In fact, when it comes to Chinese-style cooking I know next to nothing. That said, I've been finding myself stir frying more things recently. It's been a good way for me to quickly put together dishes that incorporate a variety of vegetables. I think one of the reasons I've been so interested in stir frying is that my initial introduction to homemade stir-fry involved large packages of special frozen "stir-fry" vegetables targeted at novices. They weren't bad, but they weren't exactly great either. Stir frying vegetables freshly purchased from the farmers' market with good seasoning and careful attention to how they are cooked, however, has made it a much more delicious dish.

I began with a little canola oil in a hot, non-stick frying pan. I added the onions followed by the garlic. As soon as the onions began to get a little bit of color, I added the shrimp, salting them lightly in the pan. As soon as the shrimp turned pink on the first side, I turned them over, then removed them from the pan as soon as the second side turned pink. At that point they were mostly pink, but not completely cooked.

I then added the peppers and broccoli to the pan, stirring periodically. Once the broccoli had turned bright green (but not yet tender), I removed all of the vegetables from the pan, adding them to the bowl where I had placed the shrimp.

I added a little more oil to the pan and tossed in the eggplant. I left the eggplant to cook (completely unstirred) until it had browned on the first side, then I turned it over and let it brown on a second side. After about three sides or so were browned, I added a liberal sprinkling of the sichuan pepper and added all of the vegetables and shrimp back in.

I then added the water and soy sauce to the pan, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables were just about perfectly tender (just a few short minutes). I then thickened the liquid with the slurry, adjusted the seasoning with salt and soy to taste, and served it over brown rice.

I find this very easy to gobble up. The only part I struggle with is getting the amount of soy sauce balanced just right. It's easy to accidentally overdo it, which creates an overly salty dish, so I like to add it in small quantities and try to remember not to stop adding soy until I hit that delightful point where I can just taste it in the dish but it's not yet overpowering.