Butterfly Shrimp with Snowpeas
Submitted by dee
Butterfly shrimp with snow peas, a fast Cantonese stir-fry where butterflied shrimp curl in a smoking-hot wok before joining crisp snow peas, straw mushrooms, water chestnuts, and a light ginger-garlic sauce.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
2 hrsCOOK
5 minREADY
Butterfly shrimp with snow peas is a textbook Cantonese stir-fry, all about contrast: shrimp that curl into pink crescents, snow peas that snap when you bite, and water chestnuts that hold their crunch even after a hit of stock. The butterfly cut, splitting the shrimp down the back without cutting through, lets them open up like little fans when they hit the heat.
Prep is the whole game here. Snow peas soak in cold water for two hours so they stay crisp through the stir-fry, and the shrimp get a brief salt-water soak that firms up the texture. Once everything’s chopped, the cook itself is five minutes flat.
The wok needs to be ripping hot before the peanut oil goes in, smoke point matters. Add shrimp and they curl in 20 seconds. The mushrooms, garlic, and ginger follow, then snow peas and water chestnuts, then the stock mixture, then a quick cornstarch slurry to bring it all together. Serve over steamed jasmine rice.
Kitchen Tips
- Snow peas should be slightly undercooked when served. They keep cooking from residual heat after plating.
- Don’t crowd the wok. If your burner is weak, work in two batches so the pan stays hot.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the simmering liquid, not the cold sauce. Cold slurry will go gluey.
- Slivered ginger gives more texture than minced, you want to feel it in the finished dish.
Variations
- Use chicken breast sliced thin in place of shrimp for a different protein.
- Add a splash of oyster sauce to the stock mixture for a deeper umami finish.
- Throw in baby corn or sliced bell pepper for color and bulk.
Ingredients
Directions
Preparation: Soak snowpeas in cold water for 2 hours to make crisp.
Soak shrimp in salted cold water for 1 hour.
Drain straw mushrooms.
Break off ends of snowpeas.
Peel and rinse water chestnuts. Shell shrimp, keeping tail intact. Deeply slit shrimp around upper curve (don’t cut through), deveining, and spreading shrimp almost flat. Cut freen onion on the bias in 2” lengths. Slice water chestnuts thinly crosswise. In small bowl, mix stock, soy sauce, sherry, salt and sugar. Stir-frying: Swirl peanut oil into very hot wok. When oil begins to smoke, add shrimp and stir-fry until they curl (about 20 seconds). Remove shrimp to serving platter. Stir-fry mushrooms for 30 seconds; add garlic and ginger; stir-fry another 30 seconds. Add snowpeas and water chestnuts; stir-fry briskly for 1 minute. Add stock mixture; bring to boil; keep tossing until snowpeas are bright green. Push ingredients out of liquid, dribble in cornstarch paste to thicken slightly. Return ingredients, including shrimp. Stir briefly. Serve immediately. HINT: snowpeas should be slightly undercooked when served.
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