I’m a big summer roll fan.  No lie, I’ll take it over a deep fried spring or egg roll any day of the week.  They’re light and super refreshing, and I enjoyed how, once you get over the intimidation factor, how incredibly simple they are to make and customize to your liking.

This is a recipe I was addicted to the summer after graduation, but I hadn’t really made since.  That’s probably because I, along with my team of parental sous chefs, prepped over 100 of these alone for mine and V’s college grad party, and there definitely can be too much of a good thing.  It’s based off of Tyler Florence’s recipe, but I’ve changed it up over the years.  What I like most about Tyler’s spin on the summer roll is that it’s got the classic Thai elements, like cilantro and cellophane noodles and peanuts, and then some fresh Vietnamese ingredients, such as mint and mung bean sprouts, and also few delicious surprises, like the beets.  So anywho, Jared and Robin’s oscar party seemed like the perfect opportunity to dust off that old recipe and give it an update.  It’s a bit time consuming, prepping the veggies and rolling each individual roll, but man, it’s so worth the effort.

Thai Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Peanut Dipping Sauce
Makes about a dozen rolls

2 carrots, julienned
1 large beet, julienned
2 handfuls fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 bunch mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups pea sprouts, cut in half (or bean sprouts if you can’t find the pea ones)
1 cup shredded napa cabbage
1 package baked tofu, cut into 24 long, skinny portions
1 package enoki mushrooms, roots trimmed and  mushrooms seperated
3 oz Vietnamese cellophane noodles, cooked according to package instructions
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup roasted and unsalted peanuts, chopped
The juice of 2 limes
2 tsp sesame oil
1- 12oz package 8-inch round rice paper wrappers

Start by prepping your veggies and noodles and putting a kettle of water on to boil for the rice paper wrappers.  Here’s some glamour shots of the chopped veggies:  (ps arn’t these lightbox pictures pretty rad?)

Combine the carrots, beets, cilantro, mint, sprouts, enoki, cabbage, scallions and peanuts in a large bowl.  Add the sesame oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Keep the tofu and noodles to the side, so they keep their bright white color.

Pour 3 cups of hot water into a wide, shallow bowl (keep extra hot water around because this will inevitably cool off as you’re working).  Immerse the wrappers one at a time for about 15 seconds to soften.  To form the rolls, lay the rice paper on a flat surface.  Put a small amount of the filling (about 1/4 cup) on the top 1/3 of the wrapper.  Top with 2 sticks of tofu and a small portion of the noodles.  Be careful not to overstuff the wrapper or it will tear.  Fold down the top of the wrapper to cover the filling.  Fold in the right and left sides, then roll from the top down, being careful to keep the sides tucked in.  Cover the finished rolls with a damp towel to keep from drying out while you finish the other rolls.  Serve as soon as possible with the dipping sauce.

For a speedier alternative, serve the filling as a salad along with butter lettuce leaves and allow people to build their own lettuce wraps.

For the Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup hot water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp white sugar
The juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup thai sweet chili sauce, such as Mae Ploy
2 tsp red chili paste, such as sambal

Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, and lime juice into a bowl.  Slowly whisk in the hot water until the sauce reaches a smooth consistency.  You may not need all of it.  Add in the sweet chili sauce and sambal and whisk to combine.  Serve with Thai Summer Rolls.

If you’ve never heard of Columbia Restaurant, it means you haven’t spent much time in Florida.  It’s a chain of about a dozen restaurants that to my knowledge is restricted to the Sunshine State.  To be perfectly honest, it’s not a very spectacular restaurant overall.  It definitely caters to the tourists and the snow birds, and as a college student, I found it severely overpriced.

So why is it worth mentioning?  Because they have a spectacular salad on their menu, called the 1905 salad, named for the year their flagship restaurant opened in Ybor City, a district in Tampa.  The 1905 salad is Columbia’s big ta-dah, because all the servers know the recipe by heart and whip it up table-side.  This should clue you in to how simple and fast you can prepare this for a weeknight dinner.  The classic is with ham, which you can swap out for turkey or shrimp.  I like the combo of ham and turkey, but rock it out to your tastes.  Oh and did I mention it was really delicious?

Columbia Restaurant’s 1905 Salad
Makes 2 giant entree portions, or 4 appetizer/side dish portions

For the Salad:
1 small head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
1/4 lb swiss cheese, sliced extra thick and julienned
1/4 lb deli ham, sliced extra thick and julienned
1/4 lb deli turkey, sliced extra thick and julienned
1/4 cup green spanish olives, sliced
2 tbsp fresh grated romano or parmesan cheese

For the Dressing:
1/8 cup white wine vinegar
1/8 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish

In a large bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil, along with salt and a fair bit of fresh ground black pepper.  Pour in the olive oil in a slow stream, whisking vigorously until fully incorporated.  (Alternatively, you can also drop all the ingredients into the blender, or mix them quickly with an immersion blender as I did here.  The bowl-whisked dressing is traditional.)

You know the drill.  Drop all of the salad ingredients into the large bowl, coating everything in the dressing.  Portion out into serving bowls, and top with more ground pepper and romano cheese as desired.

Pre-dressing…

And yum…

This really makes for a filling, yet light dinner.  The flavors are very balanced and the dressing is super yum.  And I seriously cannot stress enough how quickly you can whip this up on a weeknight.  Enjoy everybody!  Oh, and thanks to that magazine that published this recipe which I found in that snobby coffee shop in Sarasota that I never patronized again.

You see, I’ve had a batch of homemade chicken stock sitting in the freezer, just waiting to be used.  And since I spent so much time on it, I wanted to showcase it in a recipe that would be all about the broth.  Hence the obvious choice, soup.  All it took was Kim talking about soup today and I knew it was time.

This is my take on Italian wedding soup, partly inspired by a Tuscan soup called ribollita, sortof a minestrone thickened with bread with tons of local, cheap vegetables.  And since we’re still getting our CSA veggie delivery we had a plethora of local, cheap veggies on hand.  It basically came down to luscious chicken stock base with delicious, basily chicken meatballs, cannellini beans and lots of healthy, vibrant kale.

Tuscan Wedding Soup
Makes 4 generous portions

For the Meatballs:
1 lb ground chicken
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly whisked
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs

For the Soup:
1/2 sweet onion, small dice
1 rib of celery, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 – 12oz cans cannellini beans, drained
3/4 lb kale, washed and roughly chopped (i like a mix of dinosaur kale and curly kale for this)
Parmesan for serving

For the meatballs, preheat the oven to 400°F.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.   The mixture will be looser than ground beef/pork, but it should still hold together when formed into a ball.  Place meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes until they begin to brown.  Alternatively, you can cook the meatballs in the soup, if you like them softer and don’t mind their lack of color.  I’ll point out where in the next step.

For the soup, put a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion, celery, and carrot in a few turns of olive oil until softened, about 7 minutes.  Add the wine and cook until its reduced by half or almost fully evaporated.  Add the stock (its a good idea to have this heating up in another saucepan on your stove, so you don’t have to wait to bring this to a boil) as well as the cannellini beans and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Go ahead and check the seasonings on the soup at this point and add some salt and pepper.  Now’s a good time to prep your kale and allow your meatballs to finish browning.  If you’re cooking the meatballs in the soup, go ahead and add them now and bring the heat up closer to a low boil.  They should take about 10 minutes to cook through, then proceed with the next step.

Add the meatballs and kale to the pot.  You might have to add the kale in two batches if your pot is not large enough, but don’t worry, it wilts down quickly.  Bring the soup back to a simmer and allow to cook for at least 10 minutes for the kale to soften.  If you prefer your kale softer, go ahead and simmer an additional 10-15 minutes until its cooked to your liking. Ladle the soup into large bowls.  Top with freshly grated parm cheese and a tiny drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.  Serve with toasty garlic bread on the side.

One such dish is Beef Burgundy, which is basically a simpler, homestyle version of Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon.  The biggest difference is that the bacon and carrot is removed, and the red wine is often a combo of wine and tomato sauce, or for those on slim budgets, just tomato sauce.  So sans recipe, I decided to whip up a batch of beef burgundy from the recollections of watching my mama make it back in PA combined with a few tricks of my own.  I think she’d agree I did it justice.

Beef Burgundy or Tenderloin Tips and Mushrooms in a Sherry and Red Wine Gravy
Serves 5 -6

2 lbs beef tenderloin tips or beef stew meat
flour to coat, about 1/4 cup
1/2 a sweet onion, medium dice
12 oz white mushrooms, sliced thick
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup good red wine (I like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot for cooking)
3 – 4 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp heavy cream

Place a large, heavy bottomed saucepan (I use my le creuset for this) over medium-high heat.  Coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil.  While the pot is getting hot, cube up your beef into uniform 1-inch pieces.  If you can find tenderloin tips, I much prefer the cut to regular stew meat for this dish.  Its a lower fat content, therefore a less greasy gravy.  Not to mention the word tender is in its title, so you don’t have to cook it as long for it to breakdown and become soft.

Season the beef well with salt and pepper, then toss in flour gently to coat.  Brown the meat in two batches in the pan.  You’re looking for really good caramelization and color on the beef, like in the picture below.  If you went for a large cube size, don’t be concerned with cooking the meat through at this point.  Just go for the color on the outside.  And don’t worry about the flour that’s sticking to the pan, we’ll get to that later.

Pull the meat out and brown the second batch, adding more oil if necessary.  When the second batch is done, pull the beef out, set aside, and turn the heat down to medium.  Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan and saute.  As they begin to soften and release moisture, about 7 – 9 minutes, the liquid will pull up some of the browned nums that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.  This is a good thing.  Don’t worry if you don’t get it all now, you’ve got two more steps to scrape that all into the sauce.  When the onions are geting close to finished, add in the garlic and saute together for atleast a minute.  When the mushrooms and onions take on a beautiful golden color, you’re know they’re done.

Now its time to deglaze the pot with our liquors.  Raise the heat to high and add the sherry and red wine.  If you don’t have sherry on hand, feel free to use only wine, but I would recommend adding a few tsps of sugar for balance.  Now make sure you really scrape at the pan to pick up all that caramelized goodness.  It comes off pretty easy at this point.  Allow the liquid to cook off, reduce and thicken, which takes about 3-5 minutes.  That’s right, it’s starting to look a bit more like gravy now.

Alright, everybody in the pool.  Dump that beef back in, along with any juices that might have collected with it, as well as the bay leaf, tomato paste, and then top with the beef broth.  You might not need all 4 cups, but the broth should just cover the beef by about 1/2 inch.  Stir everything to combine and scrape down the sides of the pan.  When the mix comes to a simmer, turn the heat down to low and partially cover the pan, leaving the lid slightly askew.

Simmer over low heat for 45min – 1 hour, depending on the size and cut of your beef.  You’ll want to stir the pot every 15 minutes or so to make sure nothing’s sticking to the bottom.  How will you know its done?  The sauce will have reduced by half, and become deliciously smooth and thick like a good gravy.

Wowie wow!  Look how that sauce reduced.  Right at the end, I like to stir in a tiny bit of cream which I think really brings the sauce together and a nice pinch of fresh chopped parsley to add a bright note for contrast.  Both are totally optional, and totally worth it in my humble opinion.

Serve over buttered egg noodles with lots of delicious, sweet steamed peas.  Oh billy, your tummy will be thanking you.

So to kick us off for the new year, let’s start with the most important meal of the day… or if you enjoy a good breakfast-for-dinner like I do, then just about anytime.   This, my friends, is a kickass hash.

I feel bad for hashes.  They’ve got a pretty bum rap.  Probably because most of them are… pretty bad.  Gray, lumpy concoctions of some sort of over-salted canned meat mashed with yesterday’s homefries in a greasy spoon diner.  Hash has been around since the 1600s as a way of making unpalatable leftovers more palatable.  But when you start with delicious, fresh ingredients, a hash can be so much more.

Chicken-Apple Sausage Hash with Roasted Asparagus
Makes 4 Dinner Servings
For the Hash:

1.5 lbs red skinned potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
4 links of chicken-apple sausage, diced to the same size as the potatoes
1/2 a sweet onion, very finely diced
1/2 gala apple, very finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, 1/4 inch dice (optional)
2-3 stems of fresh thyme (about 1/2 tsp chopped thyme leaves)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs

First thing’s first, you gotta par-boil your potatoes.  I prefer the skins on the reds, but feel free to peel them.  Chop them up into uniform pieces like-a-dis:

Boil your potatoes for 8 minutes in salted water.  You’re looking for an al-dente on the potatoes, so not quite all the way cooked through.  Otherwise the potatoes will be too soft when they hit the skillet to brown later.  Go ahead and drop the taters into a strainer and set aside.

While the potatoes are boiling, put the biggest skillet you’ve got over medium-high heat and add a little bit of oil to coat the pan.  Toss in your diced sausage to brown.  Remember, the sausage is already cooked, so you’re just trying to get some color on it.  Remove from the skillet and set aside, like-a-dat:

Back to the skillet!  Drop the heat down to medium and toss in your chopped apple, onion, and red pepper if you’re feeling that.  Saute until they soften up and become translucent, then add the garlic and thyme and cook another minute.  Check it:

Ok, time to get serious.  Add some more oil, or better yet, a couple tbsp of butter to your pan.  Dump the potatoes into your skillet and stir gently to mix evenly with the onions.   The potatoes will take about 10 minutes to brown, and you’ll need to flip them every couple of minutes to make sure they brown evenly, so keep your eye on the skillet.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, its time to fry your eggs.  (Now’s also a good time to stick the asparagus into the oven if you’re making that too, so everything finishes at the same time.  The recipe for this follows the hash.)  I like a combo of olive oil and butter, probably 1 tbsp each for 4 eggs.  Make sure you season your eggs early so the salt and pepper sticks before the eggs solidify.  Cook them to your liking, but in my opinion, hash works best with a nice runny, sunny side up egg.  That way the yolk makes a delicious lil sauce for your hash/asparagus.  Oh yeah.  It’s a great thing.  Back to the taters, precious.

So as the potatoes finish up their browning, I like to add a little broth when the pan becomes dry.  It helps bring everything together.  Some leftover gravy works really well here (think thanksgiving leftovers: replace the sausage with cooked turkey and the stock with the gravy and toss in a handful of cooked peas close to the end… serious yum.)   Take a taste and adjust your seasonings if necessary.  Then toss in your chopped parsley and stir gently to coat evenly.  See those eggies working in the background too?

At this point, your hash is done, your eggs should be beautifully fried and you just pulled the asparagus out of the oven.  Way to go, you!  I serve the egg overtop of a nice pile of hash with the beauteous asparagus on the side.  You dig?:

Here’s that yolky sauce I was talking about… yes ma’am.

And let’s not forget about that asparagus…..

For the Roasted Asparagus:

1 large bunch of medium-thickness asparagus
1 – 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice OR 2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Chop off the woody ends of the asparagus.  Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.   Place on a high rack in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes, flipping the asparagus once for even browning.  The asparagus is done when the stalks become slightly flimsy and have a hint of carmelization to them.  Remove from oven, and drizzle with fresh lemon juice or a delicious vinaigrette.  Serve hot or room temperature with just about anything!

Oh man, do I love me some Thanksgiving.  Its easily my favorite holiday, in fact some years I squeeze a second thanksgiving in around February just cause.  This year was pretty quiet for us, we spent about 8 hours of the day scouring our old apartment, so in preparation for this, I made our thanksgiving dessert last night.  And since it was just the two of us, I thought I’d whip up a batch of apple crisp that could be easily reheated in single servings.  Good choices were made.

Cinnamon Apple Crisp
Serves 8: Makes a 13×9 pan, or 8 12oz ramekins

3.5 lbs granny smith apples, about 8, peeled and cored
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup flour plus 1 tbsp
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 425°.  Butter your baking dish (or ramekins).

Start by prepping your apples.  Peel and core your apples, then slice into 1/4 inch thick slices.  I like to then halve these, because I prefer smaller, bite sized pieces of apples in my crisp.

In a large bowl, mix together the apples, brown sugar, 1 tbsp flour and cinnamon and stir to coat evenly.  Pour into buttered baking dish, or evenly distribute into ramekins.

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, white sugar, oats, and salt.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a course crumble.  Top the apples with the crumb mixture.  Go ahead and heap it on there.  It’ll cook down once it hits the oven.

Pop that crisp into the oven for 20 minutes at 425°, then reduce the temperature to 350° and continue baking for another 30 minutes until the apples are tender, the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown and delicious.

Let this cool for atleast 15 minutes, then top with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream and dig in.

I mixed together two recipes to concoct an apple crisp that has all the right components.  The brown sugar creates a really gooey filling, and offers a nice balance to the extremely tart granny smith apples, rather than using a sweeter apple in the mix.  I personally don’t think it’s a crisp unless the topping contains oats, but if you’re not a fan, you can remove them entirely, and up the flour to a full cup.  But seriously, don’t.  The oats add a wonderful al dente chew to the crisp topping, contrasting the soft velvety apples.

And the other great thing about the single serving ramekins, you can keep them in the fridge and then pop them into the microwave for 2 minutes and they’re as good as if they just came out of the oven.  Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy!!

Oh lordy, this was delicious. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Melissa was kind enough to bring me a half loaf of Cream Pan bread from a bakery in Marukai, a Japanese supermarket in Torrance. This bread was magic. Giant, inch thick slices of perfectly square, sweet and slightly eggy white bread. She had told me it makes an amazing French toast, but since I rarely get the chance to cook breakfast except for on the weekends and this being a Monday and all, I opted for a monte cristo sandwich. Not familiar? Perhaps you’ve seen it on the crusty, plastic pages of the Bennigan’s menu, where they offer it up as a deep-fried, thick-battered, powdered-sugar encrusted pile on a plate. This takes the same idea but makes it much, much more healthful, and, I personally say, more delicious.

Monte Cristo Sandwich
Makes 2 tasty sandwiches

4 slices challah or Japanese white bread, medium thickness (1/2″ – 3/4″ is ideal)
2 tbsp light mayonaise
4 tsp dijon mustard
4 slices swiss cheese
1/4 lb thin sliced deli ham
1/3 lb thin sliced turkey
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp raspberry jam or preserves to serve with the sandwiches

Start by building your sammies. Spread a thin layer of mayonaise on all 4 slices. This is important to create a moisture barrier between the eggy outside of the sandwich and the delicious filling. Top the mayo with a shmear of dijon. Next add the cheese. It’s important to have this close to the outside so that it can melt like a grilled cheese. Next, layer on the turkey and the ham. Toss a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper and then fold into a sandwich. If you’re using a thinner slice of bread, you can go for a more classic double-decker club style sandwich with turkey on one half and ham on the other.

At this point you have the option to wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 or so minutes, but this is optional. It just helps the sandwich hold together better in the pan, especially if you’re going double-decker style. I was hungry and my bread slices were ginormous, so this didn’t happen.

Place a large skillet, or two medium skillets over medium-low heat and melt the butter in them. While its heating up, you’ve got time to whip up the egg bath. Crack the eggs into a wide low bowl and whisk it together with the milk until its very well incorporated. One at a time, place the sandwiches into the bowl, soaking both sides in the eggwash for atleast 10 seconds. Wipe off the excess and into the pan it goes!

The idea is to cook these friends low and slow, which allows the eggs to cook and the cheese to melt without the sandwich getting too dark on the outside. You’ll want to see some bubbles like this around the sandwich, otherwise the pan’s not hot enough. You might need to flip it over a few times to ensure even browning.  Oh and while you’re at it, check out my sweet new range…

When both sides are golden brown and the cheese has melted, pull your friend out of the pan, and cut into sexy triangles! If you feel so inclined, you can dust the top with powdered sugar, but I think the jam on the side offers the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the salty cheese/lunchmeats, the spicy bite of the mustard and pepper, and tender eggy bread. Its a seriously well balanced bite, and makes for a delightful weeknight dinner. Enjoy!

Wooooooow! Such a better box this week! All my complaints about wilty vegetables are gone!

Here’s the list: spaghetti squash, beets, china rose radish, daikon radish, broccoli, eggplant, green tomatoes, cilantro, red russian kale, dinosaur kale, curly kale, spinach, a two magical heads of greens that we’re still in the process of identifying! All of them look incredibly fresh and beautiful.

I’d say this will keep us busy for 2 weeks. Look for our recipes in the coming days!

And here’s the mysterious two: the first one looks like an open head of romaine, but its bitter, and possibly green curly lettuce or escarole for the second? Share your thoughts!

One of the best looking pieces of produce in our first CSA box was a gorgeous head of bok choy. Usually bok choy ends up playing second fiddle in my cooking, but I knew I really wanted to showcase this great ingredient. I came up with an easy stir fry using items I had on hand, including frozen shrimp and some tasty mushrooms. I was really impressed with the simplicity of the dish. In fact, I would barely change a thing next time around, and I can’t wait to make it again.

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry
Makes 2-3 entree portions

3/4 lb shrimp (25 count), deveined and shells removed
2 tbsp dry sherry or sake
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp plus 1 tbsp soy sauce
1 large head of bok choy
6 oz sliced white or shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp mirin
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sherry, 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tsp soy sauce. Add the shrimp and toss to coat evenly. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine the chicken broth, mirin, sugar, the additional 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tsp cornstarch and set aside.

The most important step of stir-frying is the prep work. Since the cooking happens so quickly, everything must be ready to hit the pan before you begin. Wash and prep your bok choy. I like to slice the thick white stems on the bias, and then roll up and do a large, rough chiffonade of the green leaves. Be sure to keep these separate, as they’ll hit the pan at a different time.

When everything is ready, heat your wok over the highest heat your stove top can get. When the pan is screaming hot, add 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil. Start by adding the aromatics, in this case the ginger and the garlic. Stir for only 15 seconds, as the garlic can burn quickly, then add the shrimp. Keep the shrimp moving around the pan, and when they’re still slightly translucent, about 1-2 minutes, pull them out of the pan and set aside. They’re not fully cooked through, but that’s what you’re looking for, just like in the pic below.

Allow your pan to come back to heat, then add the remaining tbsp of vegetable oil. Toss in the white bok choy stems and the mushrooms. Stir fry for about 3 minutes until the edges of the bok choy become translucent and the mushrooms soften, then add the green leaves of the bok choy and cook an additional 2 minutes.

When the greens have slightly wilted, return the shrimp to the pan. Add the broth mixture. Continue to move the ingredients around the pan until the shrimp is fully cooked and the sauce begins to thicken slightly, about 2 minutes.

Serve alongside steamed white rice and dig in!! Enjoy, my fellow foodies!