Flipping through my very first recipe book – painstakingly compiled during my engagement – back when I was young and eager to prove myself a home cook worth her salt – I found this gem. In my notes, I had written “awesome!” so I figured I may as well give it another go. I’m happy to report it was relatively quick and easy to throw together and despite each of my three kids picking out whatever element they respectively deemed “disgusting”, everyone ate it and pretty much liked it. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 small unpeeled English cucumber, sliced into short, thin stalks
1 T. brown sugar
2 t. corn starch
3 T. apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. vegetable oil
1 lb. cooked salad shrimp
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 – 1 t. red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
hot cooked egg noodles (optional)
Combine brown sugar and corn starch in small bowl. Blend in vinegar and soy sauce until smooth.
Heat oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp, garlic and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add mushrooms and pepper strips and continue to heat and stir. Then add vinegar mixture and heat until it boils and thickens. Add cucumber and stir-fry until heated through.
Serve over egg noodles, if desired.