Stir-fried ginger shrimp with a peppery kick

If you are having a stressful week, try a little cutting board therapy with this stir-fried ginger shrimp recipe from reader Vicky Paulson.

You’ll have plenty of celery, garlic and onion to chop, shrimp to marinate, and a hot pan to bring it all together.

Once you start frying everything up, the smells are guaranteed to draw everyone in your house to the dining table. Luckily, once you’ve prepped your ingredients, this dish comes together quickly.

“The peppery flavor of ginger complements the spiciness of the chile paste and sweetness of the rice wine,” Vicky wrote.

Stir-Fried Ginger Shrimp

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of white pepper

½ cup water

1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)

2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

1½ teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

½ teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)

1 tablespoon cooking oil of your choice oil, divided

1 cup onion, thinly and vertically sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup celery, diagonally cut

Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with ginger, salt, and pepper and toss well. Let stand 5 minutes. Combine ½ cup water and next 6 ingredients (through chile paste) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp mixture to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Remove shrimp mixture from pan; set aside. Wipe pan dry with a paper towel. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add celery; stir-fry 1 minute. Return shrimp mixture to pan; stir-fry 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

Add water mixture to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Serve immediately with jasmine rice and melon slices, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

A shrimp tip from Vicky: “Honestly, these days when I don’t have much time or I’m just lazy, I’ll marinate Argentinian Red Shrimp for 30 minutes (or less) in bottled Italian Dressing and either sauté’ them or pop them into my Air Fryer at 375° for 4 minutes per side, along with a couple of sliced mushrooms and asparagus spears. I pour the marinade over the mushrooms and asparagus before cooking them all together. This is so easy and delicious. I don’t need anything else for this dinner, but occasionally I’ll add fresh sliced tomatoes on the side, perhaps with a bit of pesto.”

Keep the Forum running by sending your favorite recipes to reporter Taylor Goebel at taylor.goebel@heraldnet.com.