Thai Basil Seafood Stir-Fry with Chili-Garlic Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A restaurant-style Thai basil seafood stir-fry built on a bag of frozen seafood mix — the trick is drying it hard and adding it in stages, with squid and shrimp going in last so they stay tender instead of turning to rubber bands. A pounded garlic-chili paste and a glossy fish sauce–oyster sauce glaze come together in under 15 minutes over the highest heat your stove can give you.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb frozen mixed seafood (shrimp, squid rings, mussels, scallops)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 Thai bird's eye chiles, stemmed (more or less to taste)
• 1 red Fresno chile, sliced
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp thin (light) soy sauce
• 2 tsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chicken or shrimp stock
• 1 tsp cornstarch

• 3 tbsp neutral oil (rice bran, peanut, or canola)
• 1/2 small onion, cut into thick wedges and separated
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 cups loosely packed Thai holy basil or Thai basil leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• Steamed jasmine rice, for serving
• Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Thaw the frozen seafood: put it in a colander set in the sink and run cold water over it for 5 to 8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until no ice crystals remain. Do not use warm water — it starts cooking the squid.
2. Toss the thawed seafood with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a bowl and let it sit 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly under cold water, then drain hard. This firms up watery frozen shrimp and squid.
3. Spread the seafood on a sheet pan lined with several layers of paper towels and blot the top aggressively until the pieces look matte and dry, about 3 minutes of patting. Wet seafood will steam instead of sear. Now sort it into two bowls: firmer, slower items (mussels, clams, scallops, any fish chunks) in one; shrimp and squid rings in the other. Toss the shrimp-and-squid bowl with 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
4. Make the paste: pound the garlic, Thai chiles, Fresno chile, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar into a rough, coarse paste, about 1 minute. No mortar? Mince everything finely with a knife and mash it under the flat of the blade — do not use a food processor, which turns it watery.
5. Whisk the sauce: combine oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar, stock, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl until the sugar and starch dissolve. Keep it next to the stove.
6. Heat a 14-inch carbon steel wok or your largest heavy skillet over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes instantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the oil and swirl. Add the chili-garlic paste and stir constantly for 20 to 30 seconds, just until it smells sharp and toasty — do not let the garlic brown past pale gold.
7. Add the onion wedges and bell pepper and stir-fry over high heat for 1 minute, until the edges are lightly charred but the vegetables are still crisp.
8. Add the firmer seafood (mussels, scallops, fish) and stir-fry 90 seconds, spreading it out to make contact with the pan. Pour in the sauce and let it bubble hard for 30 seconds.
9. Add the shrimp and squid and stir-fry 60 to 90 seconds only — pull the pan the moment the shrimp turn opaque and curl into a loose C and the squid rings turn white and just firm. Squid past 2 minutes is rubber.
10. Kill the heat. Add the scallions, basil, and lime juice and fold 15 to 20 seconds, until the basil is just wilted and glossy. Taste and adjust with a splash more fish sauce or lime. Serve immediately over jasmine rice with lime wedges.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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