Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry

As you may have guessed, I like versatile foods. Some foods just lend themselves to infinite variety and flexibility. Omelets, and quiche are two things that can be done with just about any combinations of flavors you like. Stir fry is something else that can be done any number of ways. Most vegetables are best lightly cooked, and lend themselves easily to stir frying. They remain crisp and brightly colored, and retain most of their nutrition. Meat can be added, or not, and there are all sorts of sauces you can do.

I've been meaning to stir fry this baby bok choy since I got it from my CSA. I had a bag of pre-cooked shrimp in the freezer, and thought that would work well with it. It was massively dirty, so I cleaned it the way I clean spinach. I cut off the root, the washed the leaves in a big bowl of cold water, agitating well. I then let it sit a couple of minutes, to let the sand settle. I then pull out the leaves, and drain them in a colander. Dump and rinse out the bowl, and repeat, until there is no sand in the bottom. It wasn't horrible, I only had to wash it twice.

I let the shrimp sit in a bowl of cold water a few minutes, until about 90% defrosted, then drained them.

I play around a lot with sauces. One of my favorite ingredients for stir fry sauce is date vinegar. Not remotely Asian, but it works wondrously well with soy sauce and honey, or sweet soy. I also used some of Auntie Arwen's Shy Panda Kosher Stir Fry Blend. It adds a nice zest.

I served it over jasmine rice. This rice is fragrant, with an almost floral scent. It matched well with the stir fry.

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry

12 oz. pre-cooked shrimp
3 small heads baby bok choy, cleaned, leaves split lengthwise
2 tbsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. date vinegar
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. stir fry seasoning blend

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy, and cornstarch until cornstarch is fully dissolved.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil, swirl around to coat. Add bok chow, stirring constantly until mostly tender. Add shrimp, mix in. Move bok choy and shrimp up the sides of the wok, out of the liquid. Cover, let cook for a minute, until shrimp are hot. Add soy mixture and seasoning blend. Stir until sauce thickens, and food is well coated.

Happy Eating!