Prawns/Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce

It’s been a little while since I cooked a regular dinner at home since I’ve been mostly spending my time childrearing and my mother in law has been doing most of the cooking (apart from baking). So when my father in law suggested I make dinner, I thought it was probably a good idea since I hadn’t blogged about something savory in a while too. I was also craving a couple of dishes that I grew up with that I hadn’t cooked in a while.

This recipe is from my mom. My in laws commented how they thought it was interesting that there were tomatoes in a black bean dish but this is the way that my mom has always made it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any peppers on hand so I couldn’t include them. The dish seemed to be a hit since both hubby and my father In law commented that they liked it, which is always nice to hear especially since hubby barely ever comments on anything I make.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Prawns/Shrimp
1 tbsp. Dried Black Beans
1 Tomato (chopped into small pieces)
1 Onion (chopped into small pieces)
1/2 Green Pepper (or any other colour Pepper – cut in strips)
1 clove Garlic (minced)
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Black Pepper
2 tsp. Oil
1 tbsp. Corn Starch
Corn Starch Slurry (1 tbsp. Corn Starch, 1 tbsp. Sugar, 1 tsp. Pepper and 2 tbsp. Water)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, marinate the prawns/shrimp with sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and black pepper. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour as you prepare everything else (chopping veggies and mixing together corn starch slurry).

Wash the black beans and add a little hot water to allow them to soften. When they are softened, mash them with the back of a spoon, then set aside.

Heat up wok and add 1 tsp. oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Stir fry until the onion is slightly softened and browned, then add the tomato and peppers. Once the tomato has softened and the pepper is slightly browned, remove ingredients from wok.

Remove prawns/shrimp from the refrigerator and coat with cornstarch.

Heat up wok again and add 1 tsp. oil and garlic. Stir fry until slightly browned, then add prawns/shrimp. Allow to cook for a minute before adding the cornstarch slurry and black beans. Add a little bit of water if it appears not to have enough sauce.

When the prawns/shrimp are cooked, return the vegetables to the wok and stir fry until all combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Remove from wok and serve!