[Sca-cooks] Jumbo Shrimp in Caramel Pepper-Garlic Sauce

[tom.vincent at yahoo.com]

We had wonderfully large shrimp on skewers at Alles Faire, but the only sauce was malt vinegar.  I came upon this, which looks like a delightful and fairly easy sauce.  Nothing OOP in the ingredients, either, if you use a generic vegetable oil or olive oil.
 
Enjoy!
 
 
Duriel
 
 
>From 'Splendid Kitchen'
 
I have to quote Judy Graham, my partner in producing Weeknight Kitchen. After testing my mock-up of the dish, she said, "Eat this and weep!" 
We think this is a keeper of the first order.
I can't take credit for the dish. Inspired by a crab dish at Denver's New Saigon restaurant, this two-step stir-fry is done in 5 minutes, and disappears from plates even faster. Garlic and pepper caramelized in butter and sugar is wonderful on just about everything. Do the sauce for sweet sugar snap peas or broccoli, roll chunks of corn on the cob in it, or spoon it over cooked chicken. Rice and a cucumber salad round out the menu nicely.
Jumbo Shrimp in Caramel Pepper-Garlic Sauce
© 2006 Lynne Rossetto Kasper. All Rights Reserved
Serves 2 to 3
The one important trick to this dish is having all the sauce elements lined up and ready to go. Once the butter is in the pan you'll be adding ingredients every few seconds.
Cook to Cook: In making the sauce, know that when we say "seconds," we really mean it. Otherwise, the sauce goes from lusciously caramel-like to bitter and burnt. Keep the ingredients within arm's reach.
The Shrimp:
3 tablespoons cold pressed peanut oil, or canola oil 
3 thin slices fresh ginger 
2 scallions (white part only), coarsely chopped 
1 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined, rinsed and patted dry 
Salt to taste 
Caramelized Pepper Garlic Sauce:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed well in a mortar with pestle 
Generous sprinkling of salt 
1/3 cup coarsely chopped scallion tops 
1 tablespoon diced (about 1/8-inch) garlic (3 large cloves) 
1/4 cup water 
1. Heat a wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat. Swirl in oil, count to five, then stir in ginger and scallion. Cook 3 seconds and add shrimp, sprinkling the pieces with salt. Stir-fry until shrimp turn pink and are beginning to firm. Scoop out of the pan and set aside.
2. Let the pan cool a few minutes, wipe it out with a damp cloth, and set it over medium heat. Have sauce ingredients nearby—the sauce comes together in a few moments.
3. Melt the butter in the pan but don't let it color. Stir in the sugar and keep stirring until the butter turns pale beige. Add scallion tops and cook another few seconds until the butter is pale amber.
4. Add garlic, pepper, salt, and shrimp. Stir a few more seconds until garlic is just golden (take care not to cook beyond golden or garlic will be bitter). Sugar will be deep amber. Stir in water, turn heat to high, and cook for just a few seconds to heat shrimp through. Turn onto a heated platter and serve immediately.
 
LYNNE'S TIPS
A 14-inch rolled steel wok is a great equipment buy. They sell for around $20, and can be used for stir-fries, browning, stews, soups, and steaming. They are the best for deep-frying because they give you maximum surface area with less oil than a saucepan demands. You want one with a long wooden handle and a flat bottom, which means you can use it on gas or electric stoves. Don't waste your money on stainless steel, aluminum, enameled metal, non-stick, or electric. None of these deliver the heat conduction, durability or quality you deserve.
"Deveining" means to remove the dark gray intestinal vein from the back of the shrimp. On small shrimp it is often done only for appearance. In large shrimp the vein may contain grit and other impurities and should always be removed. Run a sharp paring knife along the back of the shrimp then lift the vein out with the tip of the knife. Rinse shrimp under cold running water and pat dry. 

Crush peppercorns with the flat side of a large chef's knife or the bottom of a heavy skillet if you don't have a mortar and pestle. Place the peppercorns in a small zip-top plastic bag to keep them from flying all over while you crush. 

Peanut oil has a high smoke point, making it a good choice for stir-frying and high heat sautéing.