Take out Fake out: Chinese Spicy Shrimp/Seafood and Broccoli

Asian cuisine has long been my favorite, and thus the first type of food I tried to create in my own kitchen as a teenager before the Googles and all the Blogosphere. (That's a word now.) Needless to say, the early attempts left something to be desired. I still have yet to find many recipes that produce a satisfying brown sauce, but the more successful ones I have found have various ingredients in common that I always incorporate when making Chinese-American food. (My inability to completely replicate it, however, stems from refusal to use a hundred pounds of oil or MSG. If you have to have legit greasy take out, feel free to add these things in abundance.)

I tend to like mildly spicy food, which this is. I can eat moderately spicy food and enjoy it, but it isn't my preference, excepting a few Indian dishes. On the other hand, my father, who boils all flavor out of food and thinks herbs are the same as spices, would probably cry if he tasted this. So if you tend to swing one way or the other, feel free to add more Thai chilis or omit them completely. One was just perfect for me.

*Note: I whipped this up in a hurry. Measurements are approximations, as I didn't actually measure anything, but the ratios should be fairly accurate.

Ingredients:
3 heads broccoli, chopped into florets
1 large onion, halved and sliced thin 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound small shrimp or mixed seafood (mine had shrimp, squid and mussels)
sesame oil
1 Thai chili pepper (or bird's eye chili)
2 TBS ground ginger (fresh if possible, otherwise use 1 TBS dry)
1/2 cup tamari/soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1 TBS oyster sauce
1 TBS sambal oelek or chili sauce
Squirt lime juice
Salt, to taste
3-4 cups cooked rice
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Prepare your rice and let it cook while you do everything else.
Steam your broccoli: in a large sauce pan, place a steamer basket, and enough water to nearly reach the bottom of the basket. Bring to a boil. Add broccoli, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes or until you can stick it with a fork and it is your desired tenderness. (I had to do this in two batches because I used four heads of broccoli. Sooooo much broccoli.) When done, remove broccoli from pan and keep in bowl - this is important to stop the cooking of the broccoli so it doesn't get soggy. You'll also want to do this for the seafood below, if you finish cooking it before you are ready to use it.

Put a generous blob of sesame oil in a large saute pan with sides. Add your onion and fry on medium heat 3-5 minutes, until it gets a bit of yellow. Add garlic and fresh ginger, and saute a minute longer. (If using dry ginger, add this with the soy sauce.)

Take the seeds out of your Thai chili pepper and mince. Wash your hands twelve times then stick them in a bowl of cream. (okay, maybe skip the last part, but don't touch your face for a while unless you want to feel hell on earth.) Add this to the pan and give it another minute.

Stir in the soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, sambal, lime juice, and salt to taste. Reduce heat and simmer several minutes.

In the mean time, grab a second saute pan, another generous blob of sesame oil, and preheat over a high flame/very hot coil. Dump in your shrimp or seafood and saute until pink or not translucent. Remove from heat and add to onion and sauce mix. Stir well and taste. If too spicy, add more soy sauce, mirin, and another blob of sesame oil. If not spicy enough, add more sambal. Carefully add your brocolli and toss to coat with sauce/mix everything up.

Serve over a scoop of rice and sprinkle sesame seeds on top (which I forgot to do before taking the picture). Voila! Healthy fake out.