Five-spice shrimp a flavorful delight
The pungent flavors of Chinese five-spice powder, rice vinegar and soy sauce combine to create this quick shrimp dinner.
Chinese five-spice powder is used in many Asian dishes and includes cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. It can be found in the spice section of the supermarket. It can also be used to flavor cooked rice or sprinkle on cooked vegetables.
Keep a bag of peeled, frozen shrimp in the freezer for quick dinners. They only take about 5 minutes to defrost in a bowl of cold water. Five-spice shrimp with Chinese noodles
• The quickest way to slice scallions is to snip them with a scissors.
divided use
¼ pound broccoli florets
(about 1½ cups)
¾ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Mix water, Chinese rice vinegar, Chinese five-spice, garlic, soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil together. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil over high heat in a wok or skillet until smoking. Add broccoli and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add shrimp and sauce and toss 2 minutes or until shrimp just turn pink. Remove shrimp and broccoli to a plate and boil sauce to reduce, about 1 minute. Remove garlic cloves. To serve, place shrimp on noodles and spoon sauce on top.
PER SERVING: 233 calories, 37 g protein, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 6 g fat (1 g saturated), 276 mg cholesterol, 479 mg sodium Makes 2 servings
¼ pound fresh or steamed Chinese noodles
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup scallions, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large saucepan with 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the fresh noodles. Bring back to a boil. Drain noodles leaving about 2 tablespoons water in the saucepan. For dried noodles, cook for 3 to 4 minutes before draining. Return noodles to saucepan with the reserved water. Add sesame oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well. Place on two plates and sprinkle with scallions.
PER SERVING: 243 calories, 8 g protein, 42 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 48 mg cholesterol, 14 mg sodium