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Shrimps and Pechay Guisado

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
Two tips for a truly delicious shrimps and pechay guisado: Don't overcook the shrimps. Don't overcook the pechay.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Modern Filipino
Servings 2 people
Sauteed shrimps and Chinese cabbage
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 12 to 14 large shrimps peeled and deveined
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1 shallot peeled and thinly sliced
  • 8 cherry tomatoes halved (see notes after the recipe)
  • ½ teaspoon chopped garlic
  • ½ teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce you may need more
  • 10 to 12 pechay leaves (with the stalks)
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Place the shrimps between stacks of paper towels and press down lightly to remove excess moisture.
  • Cut the pechay into one-inch slices; separate the stalks from the leafy portions.
  • Heat the cooking oil in a pan.
  • Saute the shallot, tomatoes, garlic and ginger with half of the fish sauce and half of the pepper until the vegetables are just starting to soften.
    Sauteeing shallots, garlic, ginger and tomatoes in pan
  • Add the pechay stalks (they take longer to cook than the shrimps) and continue sauteeing for a minute.
  • Spread the shrimps in the pan and cook without moving them for a minute.
    Adding shrimps to sauteed vegetables in pan
  • Drizzle in the rest of the fish sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the pepper and all of the sugar.
  • Stir the contents of the pan and cook until the shrimps have almost completely changed color.
    Adding sliced Chinese cabbage to shrimps in pan
  • Add the pechay leaves to the shrimps. Cook, tossing, until the leaves are wilted.
  • Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
  • Serve your shrimps and pechay guisado immediately.

Notes

You don't have to use cherry tomatoes. It just so happened that the cherry tomatoes in the fridge were starting to soften and needed to be used fast. The tomatoes were tart as sin so I added a bit of sugar to balance the flavors.
Regular tomatoes will do. Two medium ones, diced, should be the equivalent of the cherry tomatoes I used in the dish. Taste a piece first and, depending on how tart the tomatoes are, decide if you need sugar in your shrimps and pechay guisado.
How much liquid should there be by the time the dish is done? A tablespoonful or two — just enough to drizzle over the cooked dish to make it glossy.
Keyword Pechay, Shrimps