Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
- 1–2 fresh hot chiles, minced (or ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes)
- 4 scallions, separated: white part minced, green part cut on the diagonal in ½-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons Chinese black beans
- ¼ to ½ cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon rice wine or sherry
- 2 pounds (900 g) shellfish (clams, mussels, crabs, and/or lobster) or 1 pound (450 g) of shrimp, fish, poultry, or pork
- 1½ tablespoons canola oil
- ½ cup onion cubes
- 1 red bell pepper or ½ red and ½ green peppers, cut in cubes
- 2–3 cups, thinly sliced vegetables (cabbage, snow peas, and/or carrots
- Steamed white rice, optional
Procedure
- In small bowl, combine garlic, ginger root, chilies, scallion whites, and black beans.
- In another small bowl, combine ¼ cup stock, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil, and stir until sugar dissolves.
- In a third small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in wine or sherry.
- Scrub clams, if using, cut shellfish into 1-inch pieces or thinly slice poultry or meat.
- Just before serving, heat a wok over high heat.
- Swirl in canola oil.
- Stir-Fry onion and bell pepper for a minute then add garlic and bean mixture and cook for 15 seconds, or until fragrant but not brown.
- Add seafood and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add stock-based sauce and cook for 2 to 5 minutes, or until seafood is cooked; if necessary to prevent mixture from sticking to pan, add remaining stock. (If steaming clams, tightly cover wok.)
- Stir cornstarch mixture and add to stir-fry along with scallion greens and sliced vegetables.
- Bring sauce to a boil.
- Serve immediately along with white rice if desired.