Seafood
Moderate evidenceShrimp
22.8 g of protein, 1.7 g of fat and 49.5 µg of selenium per 100 g. Even at 300 g a day, lipoprotein ratios did not worsen.
Shrimp and broccoli stir-fry
Pull the shrimp when they curl into a 'C'. By the time they make an 'O' they have already gone rubbery. Blanch the broccoli 30 seconds.
2 servings20 min
Ingredients
- Peeled shrimp250 g
- Broccoli1 head (250 g)
- Red bell pepper1/2
- Garlic3 cloves
- Olive oil1 tbsp
- Soy sauce1 tbsp
- Oyster sauce1 tsp
- Pepperto taste
Method
Chop the garlic and leave it 10 minutes.
Cut the broccoli into bite-size florets, blanch for 30 seconds only, then refresh in cold water and drain.
Slice the bell pepper into strips.
Pat the shrimp completely dry. Wet shrimp steam instead of searing.
Get the pan hot, add the oil, lay the shrimp out in one layer and cook 1 minute per side.
As soon as they curl into a 'C', take them out.
In the same pan, fry the garlic 30 seconds, then the pepper for 1 minute.
Return the broccoli and shrimp, add soy and oyster sauce and toss for 30 seconds. Finish with pepper.
Cooking note
Shrimp turn rubbery for a simple reason: the muscle proteins contract with heat and squeeze water out. The rule of thumb — 'C' is done, 'O' is overdone — is genuinely useful.
The 30-second blanch on the broccoli is about myrosinase. That enzyme makes sulforaphane, and it is heat-sensitive, so a long boil destroys the enzyme before anything else.
The pepper is not just colour. It carries 128 mg of vitamin C, and only a brief turn in the pan at the end leaves it there.
Shrimp cholesterol is high at 211 mg per 100 g, but even a trial feeding 300 g a day found the lipoprotein ratios did not worsen. That said, with a shellfish allergy none of this applies.
Ingredients used here
Vegetables
Early researchBroccoli
Broccoli's key compound, sulforaphane, only forms when the vegetable is cut or chewed. One cooking choice changes how much survives.
Vegetables
Moderate evidenceBell pepper
128 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of red pepper. The Cochrane review, though, found no reduction in colds.
Vegetables
Moderate evidenceGarlic
The evidence for garlic points to a modest drop in blood pressure and cholesterol. The trick is to crush it and wait ten minutes before it hits the heat.