Seafood often takes the spotlight in Taiwanese cuisine, since the coast is never far from any spot on the island. Taiwanese stir fried dishes are light and mild in flavor, which accentuates the freshness of ingredients like the shrimp used in this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4-5 large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup green onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. tapioca starch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. cooking wine
• Cooking oil
• Salt, to taste

Procedure:

1. Marinate the shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of cooking wine for 10 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and stir fry until 80% cooked. Remove and place shrimp in the mixture of beaten eggs.
3. Add to the mixture the following: 1/4 teaspoon of salt, along with the starch-water mixture and green onions.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high in the same pan and pour the mixture into pan. Gently stir fry the contents of the pan until the eggs are firm and soft. This dish is best served piping hot.

How do you devein shrimp?

I usually cut a line on the back of the shrimp with a knife and remove the black vein.  The cut will help the shrimp more plump and flavorful as it cooks.

How can I tell whether the shrimp and eggs have been cooked long enough?

In preparing this recipe, it is better to undercook than to overcook, since an undercooked pan of eggs and shrimp can be heated again until ready. If the shrimp and eggs taste dry or tough, they may have been cooked for too long.

This dish is a study in contrasts as well as an example of Taiwanese stir fry: soft marinated meats paired with crisp, fresh vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup green beans, diced
• 1 cup raw shrimp, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup dried shitake mushroom, soaked in the water until soft and then diced
• 1/2 cup pork or beef, cut into small flake-like pieces
• 1/2 cup dried radish
• 2 Tbsp. diced green onion

Seasonings:

• 1 to 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
• A few drops of sesame oil, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. tapioca starch or corn starch
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 tsp cooking wine

Instructions:

1. Marinate the meat (either pork or beef) in half a teaspoon of soy sauce, sesame oil and starch.
2. Marinate shrimp with salt, cooking wine, sesame oil and starch.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or stir-fry pan over medium-high heat. Add the meat first, whether pork or beef, and stir fry for approximately 1 minute. Then add the shrimp and stir fry for another minute. Remove and reserve the contents of the wok.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the same pan along with the diced mushroom and stir fry for approximately 1 minute. Then add green onions and stir fry for 30 additional seconds. Finally, add in the dried radish and green beans, then cook until beans are tender.
   

   Note: The secret to this recipe is the sauce, so if the contents of the wok start to dry out before you’re ready to turn off the heat, you can keep the dish moist by sprinkling a little water over the food as it cooks.

5. Add the reserved meat and shrimp and quickly mix these with the contents of the wok while continuing to stir-fry.
6. Stir in ½ tsp of soy sauce and serve immediately.

What is dried radish?

Many Taiwanese recipes use dried radish to bring out the flavor of the dish. If you have prepared Korean or Thai foods like Kimchi or Pad Thai, you may be familiar with a different type of dried radish than the type used in Taiwanese recipes. Here is an example of a package of dried radish, which I used to prepare this recipe.