Ingredients
for the sauce:
2 teaspoon palm sugar
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons black vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon black sesame oil
1 teaspoon shaoxing
everything else:
1 lb Chinese Broccoli, cut into manageable pieces
1 lb peeled medium sized shrimp
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 inch knob ginger, grated
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
2 tablespoons canola oil
10 dried Chinese red chilies, cut in half and seeds discarded
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced thinly
to serve:
hot white rice
Directions:
Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet. When the oil is hot add the chiles and peppercorns and stir-fry for a few seconds until they are fragrant, breaking the peppercorns a bit with the back of a spoon. Next, add the shallot, rehydrated mushrooms, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry for an additional minute. Add the shrimp and vegetables and stir-fry for a few minutes. When the shrimp is almost fully cooked, pour in the sauce and stir-fry, taking care that the sauce is evenly distributed, until the shrimp is fully cooked and pink.
My thoughts:
Sichuan (AKA Szechwan, Szechuan) peppercorns, are the last culinary coup around these parts. Finally located* after many, many months of searching local shops, I finally got to experiment with them. While they may be called “peppercorns”, it is a bit of a misnomer as they are actually the outer pod (the seeds are removed) of a fruit and aren’t related to chiles or pepper. They are used in many spicy dishes but they are not what is generally thought of as hot and don’t have a pungent aroma like chiles. They do have sort of citrus flavor. So if they are not hot, then why are they used so frequently in spicy dishes? They have a chemical that causes an interesting tingle and numbness in the mouth that really sets off any sort of spiciness. It’s not a “fresh from the dentist” numbness but sort of a subtle almost cooling, tingle in your mouth and throat. Adding the dried red chiles to the dish creates a meal that is pleasantly spicy but not burn-your-mouth hot.
*At Towson Oriental Market, for you locals. Ask at the counter for help because they look a lot like another spice, are not labled in English and the design of the packaging makes it difficult to make out their distinctive shape.
Sold on title alone. I love your picture with the asian bowl!
Where is Towson Oriental Market? I work in Towson, but I haven’t come across it, and I’ve been looking for these sorts of ingredients with no luck.
It’s like a block from the Bel-Loc. 8424 Willow Oak Rd MD 21234. Sort of outer Towson/Parkville.
mmm, I just had some great numbing hot chicken the other day. One question though: what is black vinegar? Is there some other name that it might go by? I am pretty familiar with the ol’ Asian market but I don’t think I have ever heard of black vinegar.
I have never seen black vinegar labled as anything but black vinegar. It is pretty standard at all the Asian groceries I go to. It’s just a dark vinegar.
Oh I see that Sichuan peppercorns…
numbing :O
Love it, and miss Chinese food so much!
Hey Rachel, I just made this tonight but with tofu instead of shrimp. I made an extra batch of the sauce, minus the cornstarch, and marinated the tofu in it while I cut up the other stuff. I found black vinegar at my local Chinese grocery labeled only as “Great Wall Vinegar”. A tip for anyone else looking for Szechuan peppercorns: mine were labeled “Chinese prickly ash”, which is the same thing. Anyhow, it’s great! Thanks for the recipe!
– jenn
That sounds great Jenn! I am glad you found the black vinegar, I saw it at Wegmans yesterday and thought of you.