May 29, 2017

Dragon Well Green Tea Shrimp Stir Fry 龍井炒蝦仁

chinese, dragon well tea, green tea, Longjing tea, recipe, seafood, shrimp, stir fry, 綠茶, 蝦仁, 龍井, 炒,

Humm...besides making our lovely savory meat Zongzi and Grandma's red bean paste ZongZi for Dragon Boast Festival this year, I thought I would also make the traditional Dragon Well Green Tea Shrimp Stir Fry 龍井炒蝦仁 to celebrate both the rivers and the dragon boats that the festival centers around.

First of all, full confession, we didn't use Dragon Well tea 龍井茶 this time.  We meant to use this special tea but, rushing around at the last minute, found that our usual Chinese tea shop was closed for the day.  But we had all our shrimp already!  That's what happens when you decide things last minute...  But, in the end, things turned out okay, very okay as a matter of fact.  We had some tea at home and decided to just use what we had.  

Our Dragon Well (sometimes) Green Tea Shrimp Stir Fry 龍井炒蝦仁 turned out just fine, juicy velvety sea sweet shrimp dotted with tea leaves, smothered with an aromatic, smooth, tea scented sauce.  We actually liked this version better than when we made it with Dragon Well tea.

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I recall that Dragon Well Tea, or Longjing Tea, 龍井茶, is a bit expensive if you want to buy the better grade.  We had some previously of so-so grade and I found it slightly bitter and that bitterness translated to the Dragon Well Shrimp Stir Fry that we made with it.  

My point here is that one can and should use any tea for this dish that tastes pleasant and that you enjoy.  If it tastes yummy as a tea, it will make a wonderful sauce.  If you prefer the sauce to be light colored as it is traditionally presented, use a green or white tea.  If you like darker red or black teas, I think that would work too, why not, just know that your sauce will be darker in color.

chinese, dragon well tea, green tea, Longjing tea, recipe, seafood, shrimp, stir fry, 綠茶, 蝦仁, 龍井, 炒,

Using that line of thought, we ended up using a shoumei tea 壽眉, a white tea, which is my new favorite tea recently.  I love the fruity aromatics of this tea!  And I love, love the translation of shoumei which is "Longevity Eyebrow".  Awesome name!

Using this tea in our shrimp stir fry turned out to be a perfect pairing, the fruitiness really complemented the sea sweetness of the shrimp.

chinese, dragon well tea, green tea, Longjing tea, recipe, seafood, shrimp, stir fry, 綠茶, 蝦仁, 龍井, 炒,
Fresh shrimp with white pepper to give it a slight kick

Traditionally delicate pale colored river shrimp were used for this dish.  As river shrimp are almost impossible to come by these days we used frozen shrimp.   But let me quantify that statement.  Frozen shrimp sold in Hong Kong is absolutely fresh when frozen and tastes pretty darn close to fresh shrimp.  The Cantonese are famously picky about their shrimp.  

But as you know, once shrimp gets not fresh it just don't taste good at all.  So if you can't get quality frozen shrimp, please do buy a pale colored fresh shrimp and peel the shells and devein the shrimp yourself.  In a dish of subtle flavors like this one you have to use the best ingredients, i.e. freshest shrimp you can get!

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The shrimp is marinated in a starch mixture and then briefly stir fried.  In this picture you can see the starch lumps clinging to the shrimp in a rather unattractive manner.  DO NOT PANIC!  It's suppose to be like this.  The starch marination is necessary to coat the shrimp and once you add in the sauce, the lumps will disappear, leaving a smooth velvety coating.

It's an easy stir fry dish, once you get the basics right.  The most important things are: fresh shrimp and tea that tastes good when brewed.  Nail these two things and you have a spectacular yet subtle traditional Chinese seafood dish that cooks up in minutes!  Happy Fun Dragon Boat Festival to all!

chinese, dragon well tea, green tea, Longjing tea, recipe, seafood, shrimp, stir fry, 綠茶, 蝦仁, 龍井, 炒,
Dragon Well Green Tea Shrimp Stir Fry
龍井炒蝦仁
Prep time: 15 mins   Cook time: 3 mins

Ingredients:


   Marinade

   Sauce

Directions:

For marination of shrimp, add 1 tbsp rice wine and white pepper to shrimp, mix, and then add cornstarch last.  Stir well, cover and set aside in fridge for at least 15 mins.

Meanwhile, brew the tea by adding 3/4 cup boiling water to tea leaves, cover and let steep for 5 mins.  Pour out the brewed tea, reserving both the tea and the tea leaves.  Add starch and salt to the tea and mix well.

Heat the wok and when hot, add 2 tbsp oil.  Add in the ginger and stir fry for a few seconds until aromatic.  Remove ginger.  Add in the shrimp and stir fry for a minute or two until the shrimp are 3/4 cooked.  The starch may clump a little about the shrimp but that's okay.  Remove shrimp and wash wok.  

Heat the wok over low heat, give the tea/sauce mixture a good stir and pour in.  When the tea sauce starts thickening add in the shrimp and the reserved tea leaves.  Let simmer for half a minute or so until the sauce is thick and clinging to the shrimps.  Pour into serving dish and serve hot.  Enjoy!

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