Garlic Brandy Shrimp

Life doesn’t get much better than a 15-minute shrimp stir-fry that features brandy and butter. My Mom always tells me, "hot wokky, no stickky.” And it’s true. Let your wok or pan heat up before you add any of your ingredients. Swirl the hot oil around a bit so that it coats the entire surface of the pan. If you wok is super-hot it will immediately sear the surface of your shrimp, which will prevent it from sticking. In this recipe, I fry the shrimp halfway in hot oil, remove and then add it back in when the sauce comes together to finish cooking through. This gives the shrimp a nicely seared surface with an incredible snappy texture, instead of just boiling away in the sauce. And, the bonus? No goopy brown sauce.

Serves 4 as part of multi-course meal.

1 lb raw tail-on shrimp, deveined
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbl butter
2 stalks green onion, cut into 2” pieces
1 tbl brandy
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbl cooking oil
Rinse shrimp, pat completely dry and marinate in cornstarch and 1/2 tsp kosher salt for 5 minutes. Heat your wok or large skillet over high heat. When wok is hot, add 2 tbl cooking oil. When oil is hot and just starting to smoke, add shrimp. Fry until they are half-done, approximately 1-2 minutes. Remove from wok, leaving the oil in the wok.
Turn heat to medium-high. Add the garlic, fry for 10 seconds. Add the brandy, salt, sugar, butter. Cook sauce for 1 minute to thicken slightly. Add the half-cooked shrimp and green onion. Fry until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes (depends on size of your shrimp)