Shrimp and broccoli stir-fry

This shrimp and broccoli stir-fry is an express, tasty cutting dish: 36 g of protein for 260 kcal and only 8 g of fat. The shrimp cook in minutes, the broccoli and pepper keep their crunch, the soy-sesame-ginger sauce flavours without weighing it down. Ready in twenty minutes, it is the homemade Asian meal that fits your macros perfectly.

Like any stir-fry, the trap is the sauce. Store-bought Asian sauces are often very sugary. Here, soy sauce, garlic and ginger flavour for almost zero calories; sesame oil brings the typical taste (one spoon is enough, it's aromatic). For a heartier dish for balance or bulking, add rice or noodles.

Prep everything ahead (it cooks fast), then sear over high heat. First stir-fry the broccoli and pepper so they stay crunchy, add the garlic and ginger, then the shrimp at the end (3-4 minutes, ready as soon as they turn pink). Don't overcrowd the pan or it boils instead of frying. Deglaze with the soy sauce.

Shrimp are one of the most practical proteins there is: lean (36 g of protein here for barely 8 g of fat), they cook in three to four minutes and pair with anything. Frozen, they keep for months in the freezer and thaw in minutes — the perfect backup food for an improvised protein meal.

Their only point to watch is cooking: beyond a few minutes, they turn rubbery. Always add them at the end, and the moment they turn pink and curl into a C, take them off the heat. Long discouraged because of their cholesterol, they are in fact very suited to an athlete's diet, dietary cholesterol having little effect on blood cholesterol in most people.

The base adapts easily without changing the macros. Lime-chilli version: add the zest and juice of half a lime and a pinch of chilli at the end of cooking. Sesame version: sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and chives. Crunchy vegetable version: swap the pepper for snow peas, mushrooms or bok choy, and add a handful of bean sprouts for crunch. The broccoli can also give way to cauliflower or fine green beans.

To turn the stir-fry into a real bulking or training-day meal, serve it over 150 g of cooked basmati rice or on rice noodles: you add roughly 40 to 50 g of carbs without touching the protein. On a strict cut, keep it plain, or pair it with konjac rice or a little shredded cabbage. A scrambled egg tossed into the wok at the end adds about ten grams of protein and a texture close to fried rice.

The classic mistakes are quickly fixed. A pan that isn't hot enough makes the vegetables release water, so they boil instead of browning. Still-wet shrimp cool the pan down: pat them dry with paper towel. Soy sauce poured too early makes the vegetables soggy, and too much sauce quickly raises the sodium. Taste before adding salt: the soy is almost always enough. Finally, respect the order: hard vegetables, aromatics, then shrimp.

This stir-fry is best eaten right away, but it keeps 24 hours in the fridge in an airtight box. Reheat it very briefly in a hot pan or 45 seconds in the microwave at medium power, no longer: shrimp toughen quickly. For meal prep, prepare the cut vegetables, garlic, ginger and sauce ahead, and cook the shrimp at the last moment. Never refreeze shrimp that have already been thawed.