“One thing I love about Chinese food is the vegetables. You really don’t have a Chinese meal without some kind of healthy, fresh green. This I’m going to cook with some dried shrimps. It’s a very homely dish, absurdly simple and nice. I make it a lot. Dried shrimps are sold in most Chinese food shops and keep well in the fridge or freezer.”
– Fuchsia Dunlop, food writer, London
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp dried shrimps (about 10g)
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
300g green pak choy
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 tbsp stock or water
¼ tsp potato starch mixed with 1 tsp cold water (optional)
Salt
METHOD
Put the shrimps and Shaoxing wine in a bowl and cover with hot water; soak for at least half an hour. Quarter the pak choy lengthways, then cut it into chopstickable lengths.
Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over a high flame. Add the shrimps and stir-fry until they smell delicious, then add the pak choy and stir until the leaves have wilted. Pour the stock or water around the sides of the wok. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for a minute or so to heat through. Remove the lid, season with salt and stir briefly to allow the liquid to reduce. Give the potato starch mixture a stir and mix into the wok, if using. Serve.
