Wok's For Dinner: Stir-Fried Shrimp and Pea Pods

This is an old recipe that I've been making for many years. It actually calls for for snow peas, but those are hard to find in my area. Fortunately, we had a small harvest from our sugar snap peas before they burned off. They got planted too late, but managed to grow about 6 inches tall and produced a handful of pea pods. I was so tickled when I saw them, knowing that I could use them for this recipe.

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Pea Pods

Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp (you could substitute with fully cooked shrimp instead)
1 lb fresh snow peas (I used a handful of sugar snap peas from the garden)
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 bag mixed stir-fry vegetables (not in original recipe, but I usually add them to give more volume to the recipe)

Directions:
Remove shells from shrimp, devein and set aside. Pull ends off peas; set aside. Mix cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce, and chicken broth; set aside. Heat oil in wok or wide skillet. Add shrimp and garlic (if using fully cooked shrimp, then do not add the shrimp at this time; just cook the garlic). Stir-fry over high heat for 1 minute. Add peas and stir-fry vegetables. Continue cooking for 2-5 minutes, stirring, until vegetables start to get tender. Stir in cornstarch mixture and shrimp if using fully cooked shrimp. Heat until cornstarch mixture boils and thickens. Toss to coat all ingredients with sauce. If freezing: Allow mixture to cool, then place in freezer bag, squeeze out air, seal and freeze. I was able to put everything in a quart-size freezer bag, but you may need to use a gallon-size, depending on how much of the whole mixture you make. Thaw at least 24 hours in refrigerator. Heat in microwave or in a skillet. Serve over rice or Chinese rice noodles.

This made a nice stir-fried dinner for Baby Girl and I, and I have some leftover for lunch this week. My daughter loved all the vegetables, the shrimp, and the rice. The only thing she refused to eat were the grapes that we had as a side dish. She helped me out by pulling the grapes off the stems, putting them onto our plates, all the while saying, "I love grapes." But as soon as the time came to eat them, she decided that she did not, after all, like grapes. Oh well! She still ate well, so I can't complain.