Mandarin, Sesquintennial, Soup,

Well that was a pity, whilst at the Mandarin, got a call from our friend that she had a flat batter and wouldn't be able to make it as CAA would take another half hour. Nothing loath we went on into the restaurant and ate without her. Shame though. However, we have arranged another lunch on July 4th. July being the month of Canadian sesquintennial celebration, July 1 being Canada Day, the Mandarin are doing all kinds of Canadian specials, a lot of which I wouldn't touch, but they will be offering my favourite, chocolate dipped bacon, yay. Plus I can celebrate Independence Day at the same time.

After lunch we went shopping and I bought enough peas to make Pea and Lovage Soup which we ended up having for supper, I see that in fact last time I used some Philly cheese instead of Crème Fraîche this time I used cream and lemon juice, I didn`t like it as much, Matt thought it was OK. Must make a note on the recipe for next time, if there is one.

Just realised, I haven`t had any asparagus today, that`s serious, I eat it every day whilst in season. But not today, will have to have double tomorrow LOL.

So, a non asparagus recipe for you today. A very non Chinese ingredient too.

Mama Chang's Stir-Fried Shrimp and Scallions

Joanne Chang's mother used to make this sweet-and-spicy shrimp stir-fry all the time. When she was old enough to cook, Chang asked her mom for the recipe. "She hemmed and hawed until she finally

gave it to me, revealing her secret ingredient: ketchup

1 1/2 lbs shelled and deveined large shrimp
3 garlic cloves, sliced
One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large egg white
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup canola oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the garlic, ginger, red pepper, egg white and 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch until well-coated.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the ketchup with the broth, sugar, pepper, salt and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch.

3. In a very large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp and stir-fry over high heat until they begin to turn pink. Add the ketchup mixture and simmer until the shrimp are cooked, about 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve.

4. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the garlic, ginger, red pepper, egg white and 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch until well-coated.

5. In a medium bowl, whisk the ketchup with the broth, sugar, pepper, salt and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch.

6. In a very large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp and stir-fry over high heat until they begin to turn pink. Add the ketchup mixture and simmer until the shrimp are cooked, about 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve.

Servings: 4



Have a great day