Shrimps With Fresh Mushrooms and Bell Peppers

Isn't this dish so pretty and colorful? It is yummy and healthy too! Best of all, it is easy to cook.

I am partial to stir-fried dishes. You will see many of my dishes are stir fries. Why? Because 1) Stir frying is one of the easiest method of cooking. It uses less time on top of the hot stove. 2) Stir frying seals in all the flavors of the ingredients used, whether it is vegetables or seafood. It brings out the natural flavors too. The resulting dishes are always flavorful even if we use minimal herbs. 3) Stir frying is one of the healthiest method of cooking, if you use the right kind of cooking oil. And we use only a little amount of oil, at that. Good oils to use are peanut oil, canola oil, olive oil and sesame oil.

I found some really nice looking large bell peppers at the grocery yesterday. I think Bell Peppers are also known as Capsicums in some countries. I have to confess I was at first attracted by their gorgeous colors - bright yellow, outrageous red and vivid green. I knew I just have to buy them even if I have no specific recipe in mind. I am sure they would taste sweet with a nice crunchy texture that the kids would love. Besides, they are rich in Vitamins C and A. Good for eyesight, good for the bones. It has fiber and its colors show that they are a good source of anti-oxidants. A little googling produced all the good benefits of Bell Peppers. If you want to know more about Bell Peppers, their health benefits, how to choose and store them, their complete nutritional profile, please click here.

I also found some fresh shiitake and abalone mushrooms. Hubby loves mushrooms of any kind. Mushrooms are also a good source of protein. Lately, it has been discovered that it has cancer-fighting properties. So, I threw them into my grocery cart as well. Check out the picture below. Just look at the gorgeous colors of the raw bell peppers. The white mushrooms on the upper left side are the abalone mushrooms and the brown ones with white flesh underneath (upper right side) are the shiitake mushrooms.

1/2 kilo medium-sized shrimps (deshelled, deveined)

1 medium sized bell pepper of each color - red, green and yellow, sliced

1 pack (around 200 gms) fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 pack (around 200 gms) fresh abalone mushrooms

5 slices ginger

4 T minced garlic

4 T cooking oil, preferably peanut oil or canola oil

2 T Chinese cooking wine

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat cooking oil in the wok or skillet. Add the ginger slices. Cook until it turns a little golden brown. Add in the garlic. Stir fry until fragrant but not burnt.

2. Add in the cleaned, deveined shrimps. Pour in the cooking wine. Stir fry for a while. Add in the 2 kinds of mushrooms. Mix everything up a little. When the shrimps are nearly cooked, add in all the bell peppers. Stir fry again until all the ingredients are evenly cooked and all the shrimps are done.

3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dish up and serve hot.

I am submitting this dish, with its featured bell peppers to the Weekend Herb Blogging. This event, where we are to feature any herb, plant, vegetable or flower, was started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. This week, the event is being hosted by our very own Scientist in the Kitchen. To see last week's round-up, please check out Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.