Woks of Life Shrimp in Lobster Sauce
When we crave old-school American Chinese restaurant food and we’re nowhere near a good restaurant, this is the recipe we reach for — it never fails to satisfy that craving. It’s adapted from The Woks of Life cookbook by Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung — one of Cooks Without Borders’ Best New Cookbooks of 2022. The headnote in the Leung family’s book explains that the dish was inspired by traditional Cantonese-style lobster, but that stateside shrimp became popular as a less-expensive variation.
The key to this dish is getting the egg addition at the end just right: You want to cook it undisturbed for a moment so it will form ribbons rather than dissipating and making the dish cloudy. Serve it with steamed rice, fried rice or brown rice, and you will be very happy.
Makes 2 servings.
Ingredients
4 ounces ground pork
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
12 ounces peeled and deveined jumbo or extra-jumbo shrimp
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 scallion, white and green parts, chopped
Instructions
1. Add water to your wok until it’s about one-third full, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the pork and stir to break up any clumps. Cook for about 1 minute, until it’s no longer pink, then use a fine-mesh strainer to remove the pork and give it a quick rinse. (This step will give you a cleaner sauce.)
2. Clean the wok, then heat over medium-high heat until it’s completely dry and just begins to smoke. Add the canola oil, garlic, shrimp and ground pork, and stir-fry for 10 to 20 seconds. Add the Shaoxing wine and stir-fry another 10 seconds. Add the chicken broth, salt, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper. Stir in the peas and bring to a simmer.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry, then add it to the wok a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Let the mixture bubble and thick to a gravy-like consistency. If it’s too thick for your liking, add a little more chicken broth. If it’s too thin, add more slurry.
4. Without stirring, pour in the lightly beaten egg evenly over the sauce and sprinkle on the scallion. Don’t stir yet; just simmer for 5 seconds. Then use a spatula to fold the egg into the sauce with a few strokes. Serve.
Woks of Life Shrimp in Lobster Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground pork
- 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 12 ounces peeled and deveined jumbo or extra-jumbo shrimp
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 scallion, white and green parts, chopped
Instructions
- Add water to your wok until it’s about one-third full, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the pork and stir to break up any clumps. Cook for about 1 minute, until it’s no longer pink, then use a fine-mesh strainer to remove the pork and give it a quick rinse. (This step will give you a cleaner sauce.)
- Clean the wok, then heat over medium-high heat until it’s completely dry and just begins to smoke. Add the canola oil, garlic, shrimp and ground pork, and stir-fry for 10 to 20 seconds. Add the Shaoxing wine and stir-fry another 10 seconds. Add the chicken broth, salt, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper. Stir in the peas and bring to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry, then add it to the wok a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Let the mixture bubble and thick to a gravy-like consistency. If it’s too thick for your liking, add a little more chicken broth. If it’s too thin, add more slurry.
- Without stirring, pour in the lightly beaten egg evenly over the sauce and sprinkle on the scallion. Don’t stir yet; just simmer for 5 seconds. Then use a spatula to fold the egg into the sauce with a few strokes. Serve.
