Shrimp with Charred Red Peppers

One of my absolute favorite recipes from Tom. Well, he got it from..."Good Food of Szechuan," I think.

3/4 lb cleaned shrimp (he and I both usually round up to a pound)
1 cup cold water
1/2 tsp salt

Marinade:
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tsp water
1/2 egg white (just use the whole egg white and drain excess at end)
1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp green onion chopped (I usually chop 4-5 stalks)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger (Tom usually uses at least 1 Tbs - I usually slice up an inch and a half of ginger and put it in the cuisinart with the garlic)
1 tsp finely chopped garlic (Tom says he uses more - I usually throw 6 cloves in the cuisinart with the ginger)

Seasonings:
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp waters
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar (rice, cider, white - but not wine or balsamic)
2 tsp rice wine or dry sherry (look for Shao Xing Rice Wine in a brown bottle with a red label at your local asian market)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt (Tom and I often skip the salt at this stage)
1/2 tsp black pepper (try to use fresh ground pepper)

Approx 6 Tbs oil (peanut or vegetable)

Put cleaned shrimp in bowl with 1/2 tsp salt and cold water. Let stand 2 minutes, then rinse with cold water until shrimp start to turn slightly white (about 1 minute). Add egg, cornstarch-in-water, and salt to drained shrimp. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Chop onion, ginger, garlic. Clean red peppers (that's what the book says - I don't do this: what's to clean? I use dried red chili peppers). Set aside.

Mix seasonings and set aside.

To cook: Heat 3-4 Tbs oil in wok over high heat. Drain excess marinade from shrimp, then add shrimp to wok and stir-fry only 8-10 seconds (Tom says go a bit longer - I say don't overcook - cook just long enough for the whole exterior of the shrimp to turn pink). Remove immediately, drain and set aside.

Add oil to wok to equal 4 Tbs. Heat, then stir-fry red peppers over medium heat until peppers begin to char and are almost black (Joan sez: if they've turned black by now, remove them to the shrimp bowl). Add green onion, ginger and garlic and stir fry briefly. Return shrimp to wok, stir. Re-stir the seasonings before adding to the wok. Stir-fry just long enough to coat the shrimp with the seasonings - by which time, the shrimp should be fully cooked. Remove and serve hot with rice.

Joan's notes: I like to wash the rice first, then while it drains, clean the shrimp. Rice usually takes about 20 minutes, so take a load off - or do all the prep work and have it all lined up for cooking quickly.