Sautéd Crystal Shrimp (水晶蝦仁)

At some point in the recent history, this dish was known to be the Best Shanghai Dish (上海第一名菜).  With only one ingredient, Shrimp, and the simplest cooking method, Sauté, this dish is the perfect example of simplicity. Even though the shrimps we get from the market are in frozen  (or frozen then defrost) form, they must look as clear as crystal when served in this dish (hence the name Crystal Shrimp), and they must taste as if they are freshly caught from the sea, with shrimp meat tight, and texture slightly crunchy.  On top of that, the shrimps should not shrink after being cooked or reheated later.

1. Defrost ~1 lb of medium-sized frozen shrimps (shelled and deveined), by immersing the shrimps in water in a bowl for 20-30 minutes (change water 2 -3 times to rinse the shrimps along the way). Note- It's typical to use medium- or small-sized shrimps for this dish, not the large-sized ones.
2. Marinate the shrimps in a small mixing bowl, with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, and most importantly, 1/4 tsp of baking soda (for 1 lb of shrimp). Stir in one direction (one direction only, clockwise, or counterclockwise), for 1-2 mins, drain any extra fluid at the end. Now, set aside in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Afterwards (optionally), add 1/4 tsp vinegar and stir, to neutralize the baking soda taste.  Note- Baking soda helps preserve the liquid inside the shrimps, and make the shrimp meat taste slightly crunchy.
3. Add 4-6 Tbsp of veggie oil in a flat bottom cooking pan, and turn on high heat for 1-2 minutes.  Place shrimps in the pan and stir-fry till the shrimps are white turning pink (half-cooked), ~1 minute.  Turn off heat and set aside the shrimps.  Note- With baking soda in the marinade, no need to worry too much about overcooking the shrimps.
4. Use the same flat bottom cooking pan, turn on high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the veggie oil (consider draining oil from the previous step), heat the oil for 60 seconds, add 1-2 stalks of scallions (cut into 1/2" segments), stir-fry till fragrant (30-60 seconds).  Now, add the shrimps and stir-fry till truly pink (another 90-120 seconds, no need to worry about overcooking the shrimps).  Turn off heat, garnish with minced scallions, and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.  Note- If you like more vegetables in this dish, add some Snow Peas, or asparagus (cut into 1/2" - 1" segments), or Brocolli right after stir-frying the scallion segments into fragrance, stir-fry the vegetable till almost soft, then add the half-cooked shrimps and stir-fry till the shrimps are truly pink.