Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

My kids like shrimps. Instead of the normal boiled shrimp served with my simplified cocktail sauce (ketchup and lemon juice, as I never have horseradish or worcestershire sauce on hand), I decided to make the Chinese shrimp in tomato sauce today. It was a hit.

Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, patted dry
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 green onion, minced
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp water
pinch of salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp chili bean paste (optional)

Instead of buying already peeled and deveined shrimp, you could also get the easy peel ones. It took about 10 minutes for me to peel the whole pound. However, shrimp has 2 veins, one along the back and one along the inside. The deveined shrimp I've ever seen only has the back vein removed. So it would me another 15 minutes or so to devein them.

In a large bowl, mix the corn starch, salt, and water. Toss in the shrimp.
In the pan, heat the oil. Pan fry the shrimp in batches. Turn the shrimp over after they curl up and the tails change color. Remove when they are no longer transparent. Repeat till all shrimp are cooked.

If there is still too much oil left in the pan, pour most of it out, leave only about 1 tsp. Add green onion and ginger, stir till the aroma comes out, add the shrimp, soy sauce, and cooking wine. Mix and stir for a minute. Add the tomato paste and chili bean paste, mix. Remove and serve.