2 tablespoons fish sauce- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Pinch ground white pepper
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or peanut oil
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large green or red chili pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut crosswise into thick rings
- 1 small white onion, cut into thin half-moons
- 1/2 cup packed sugar snap peas or snow peas, cut in half
- 10 peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
- 2 small ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters
- Small handful Thai basil leaves (see headnote; may substitute a hefty handful of Genovese basil)
- Juice from 1/2 lime, for serving
Whisk together the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper and 1 tablespoon of the water in a liquid measuring cup.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, swirl to coat, then add the garlic. Stir-fry gently for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the chili pepper and stir to combine. Stir in the onion; increase the heat to high and stir-fry for 1 minute, until the peppers have softened a bit, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
Add the sugar snap peas or snow peas and the remaining 3 tablespoons of water; stir-fry until the water has evaporated. Add the shrimp; stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the fish sauce mixture, the tomatoes and basil; stir-fry, shaking the wok once or twice, just until the shrimp have become opaque and the tomatoes have barely wilted.
Remove from the heat; add the lime juice. Serve right away. 2 servings