Leeks, one of the first legitimate spring vegetables, are the highlight here (in fact this recipe is great without the shrimp; see page 230). In place of the shrimp, you could use scallops, tofu, chunks of chicken or pork, or slices of beef.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil

　　2 large leeks, about 1 1/2 pounds, washed and chopped

　　3/4 to 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and, if you like, deveined

　　2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　1 1/2 teaspoons good-quality stock, dry sherry, or soy sauce (optional)

　　

Step 1

Put half the oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over high heat. When a bit of smoke appears, add the leeks all at once. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then cook, stirring only occasionally, for about 10 minutes. When the leeks dry out and begin to brown, remove them from the pan and set aside.

　　

Step 2

With the heat still on high, add the remaining oil to the pan, immediately followed by the shrimp; sprinkle with the ginger. Cook for about a minute and stir. Cook, stirring every minute or so, until the shrimp are almost all pink. Add the leeks, along with some salt and pepper. When the shrimp are done (no traces of gray will remain), stir in the liquid if desired, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve.

　　

Shrimp

Step 3

Almost all shrimp are frozen before sale. So unless you’re in a hurry, you might as well buy them frozen and defrost them yourself; this will guarantee you that they are defrosted just before you cook them, therefore retaining peak quality.

　　

Step 4

There are no universal standards for shrimp size; large and medium don’t mean much. Therefore, it pays to learn to judge shrimp size by the number per pound, as retailers do. Shrimp labeled 16/20, for example, contain sixteen to twenty per pound; those labeled U-20 require fewer (under) twenty to make a pound. Shrimp from fifteen to about thirty per pound usually give the best combination of flavor, ease (peeling tiny shrimp is a nuisance), and value (really big shrimp usually cost more than $15 a pound).

　　

Step 5

On deveining: I don’t. You can, if you like, but it’s a thankless task, and there isn’t one person in a hundred who could blind-taste the difference between shrimp that have and have not been deveined.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.