Shrimp with Carrot juice and Thai Spices

This intensely flavored yet light and delicate appitizer comes to us from the restaurant JoJo ,NYC,through Master chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He has the uncanny ability to down scale fat but not at the expense of taste or texture. I have visited both JoJo and Vong in NYC  and I promise a visit there will not dissapoint.

Serves 4

1 cup diced carrots

2 cups bottled carrot juice

2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon grass or lemon peel(yellow part only)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon finely chopped lime peel(green part only)

1 small red chili,minced

24 medium ,uncooked shrimp,shelled,deveined

2 tablespoons chopped,fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

3 tablespoons butter

Fresh mint sprigs

Bring small saucepan of water to boil. Add carrots and cook 4 minutes. Drain. refresh in cold water and drain. Transfer carrots to a large saucepan. Add carrot juice,Lemongrass,lime juice,lime peel and red chili. Bring to boil.

Add shrimp;simmer until pink and opaque about 3 minutes. Add cilantro and mint. whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with mint sprigs.

Fried Rice with shrimp and green curry paste.

This spicy Thai style fried rice makes a great one pot meal,watch out though depending on the amout of green curry paste you chose to use you can raise or decrease the heat level.

2 tablespoons oil

2 garlic cloves,finely chopped

1 tablespoon or more Green curry paste

4 oz raw shrimp,peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

31/2 cups boiled fragrant rice

1 sweet red pepper,seeded and sliced

cilantro leaves ,for garnishing

In a wok or frying pan,heat the oil till a light haze appears. Add the garlic and fry until golden brown. Add green curry paste ans shrimp and stir quickly. Add fish sauce,sugar and soy sauce,stir and cook for a few seconds until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Add cooked rice and stir throughly. Add the sweet pepper and scallions and stir quickly to mix.

Courtsey Vatcharin Bhumichitr

Stir-fried shrimp with pepper sauce

My husband frequently travels to China for business and absolutly loves the country and its cusine. Although I have not yet travelled to China,I have enjoyed a virtual tour through his narration. Hopefully soon I will have a personal account to give you.Till then…

1 lb fresh shrimp in their shells,about 26-30 to the pound

1 tablespoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic

4 scallions,including the green tops,cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 tablespoon sherry

2 tablespoons Soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon cornstarch,dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold chicken stock or cold water

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

Shell,devein ,wash and throughly dry shrimp. Refridgerate till ready to use.

Keep all ingredients ,including shrimp with in easy reach to your cooking area.

Set a 12 inch wok or 10 inch skillet over high heat for about 30 seconds. Pour in 2 tablespoons of oil,swirl it about in the pan and heat for a furthur 30 seconds,reducing the heat to medium if it begins to smoke. Immediately add add the chopped ginger,garlic,scallions and red pepper flakes,stir-fry for about 20 seconds,and drop in the shrimp.

cook,stirring constantly,for 1-2 minutes,or until shrimp turn pink anf firm. Add the wine,soy sauce and tomato ketchup,sugar and salt;stir once or twice.

Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stirto recombine it and add it to the pan,stirring continuously,until the mixture thickens and coats the shrimp with a translucent glaze. Transfer to a heatened platter and serve at once

Crisp Pan-Fried prawns

Prawn Varuwal is a simple Indian   ,  crisp shrimp ,pan fried till golden and crisp. The inspiration for this winner came from the famed Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The presence of both tamarind and lemon juice gives these shrimp a spicy, tangy flavor. Serve this as an appetizer for 4 or a main course for 2.

16 shelled and deveined  medium sized prawns

1 tablespoon grated ginger root

1 tablespoon grated garlic

1 tablespoon tamarind pulp

2 tablespoons red chili powder, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

salt to taste

2 tablespoons rice flour

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Clean and throughly dry the shrimp.

Combine the grated ginger and garlic with the toasted cumin powder, tamarind pulp, red chili powder, turmeric powder,salt and rice flour. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to this. Blend.

Place all this in a resealable plastic zip top bag and add the shrimp. Seal and toss to coat.

Allow the prawns to marinade in this mixture, refridgerated for at least 2 hours.

Heat the remaining oil in a skillet till quiet hot. Fry the shrimp in this oil for 11/2 minutes a side, turning over for even cooking.

Remove from pan, drain on absorbant paper towel briefly, and plate, drizzling the shrimp with the fresh lemon juice.

Sea Scallops with Belgian Endive

Heres a great recipe from Chef Paul Bartolotta from Spaggia check it out:

What you need:

20 Large Scallops or Shrip

20 Endive leaves or Zucchini

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. Finely Diced Tomatoes

2 tbsp. Chipped fresh chives

2 lemons juiced

Salt and pepper

4 oz. olive oil

How to do it:

In a small mixing bowl add extra virgin olice oil, lemon juice, sale and pepper to taste. Mix ingredients together  to make the dressing. Set aside.

Heat a large saute pan and coat with olive oil. Saute the endive leaves until golden color. Remove from pan and arrange 5 leaves on each plate in a star pattern.

Clean pan with a towel, heat and coat pan again with olive oil. Add scallops and sature on both sides until a crisp golden brown. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from pan and place scallops on each plate, 4 in the center of the star of endive leaves and 1 on top. Keep warm.

Pour dressing lightly over the scallops (approx. 1 1/2 tbps per serving) and drizzle over the leaves.

Sprinkle fresh chopped chives and diced tomatoes over entire presentation and serve immediately

Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!

Poached Whole Shrimp with ginger,scallion and Soy

This recipie is a real treat from the Shun Lee cookbook. It is important that you use Jumbo Whole shrimp, with head and tail on. It is served with a light, slightly spicy dipping sauce

Dipping sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Maggi sauce, available at Asian Markets

1 tablespoon Chicken stock, fresh or canned chicken broth

1 teaspoon peeled and minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon chinese barbeque sauce, preferably Bull Head

1 tablespoon Rice Wine, or dry sherry

1 scallion, white part only,trimmed and minced

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 small green chili, Thai or serrano, seeds and ribs removed, minced

 

1 scallion, green part only,trimmed and cut into 3 pieces

one 1/2 inch piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into 2 slices and smashed

1 teaspoon rice wine or dry sherry

12 colossal or jumbo shrimp, unpeeled

To make dipping sauce, mix soy sauce, maggi sauce, stock,ginger, barbeque sauce, rice wine, scallion, cilantro, and chili in a small bowl, set aside.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in wok over high heat. Add scallions, ginger and rice wine. Add shrimp and cookjust until they turn bright pink , about  2 to 3 minutes. Drain well. Discard the scallion and ginger.

Transfer the hot shrimp to a platter and arrange overlapping, in a circle. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Coconut Shrimp

This is a very popular item at all my dinner parties. There must be something comforting about eating Large shrimp coated in Coconut. I love to serve these as a serving of 4 on individual plates with  a small wedge oflime, to be sprinkled on at the last minute. As a second accompinment I offer a small bowl of spicy Lingham sauce available at most Asian Markets.

1 cup All purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup beer (not light), ice cold

2 tablespoons sugar

Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Chili powder

11/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut, available in Asian markets.

12 Jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail on. Dried throughly in paper towels

Oil for deep frying, heated tp 350 degrees

Combine Flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper, chili powder and half of the coconut. Reserve the other half of the coconut in a seperate dipping bowl.

Dip each shrimp in the batter holding it by the tail and then roll in the dry coconut.

Deep fry , 3-4 shrimp at a time for 1-2 minutes per side till golden. Drain on paper towels and plate with LIngham sauce and a lime wedge

Thai glass noodle salad with shrimp, chicken and mint

Glass noodles are made from mung bean .On their own they lack flavor but pick up the flavors they are paired with. Try serving this with a cup of chai or Thai iced coffee.

1/2 cup Chicken stock

8 ounces ground chicken

8 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined

4-6 ounces bean thread noodles,soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and drained

salt and white pepper

 

DRESSING

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/8 cup fish sauce

2 teaspoons palm sugar, or white

1 tablespoon thai chili paste

2 spring onions, finely chopped

3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint

1/4 red onion finely sliced

1/2 cabbage, finely shredded

Bring stock to a rolling boil in a saucepan, add chicken and cook for 3-4 mintes, use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a large salad bowl.

Add shrimp to boiling stock and cook 30 seconds. Use slotted spoon to transfer to bowl with chicken. Season both with salt and pepper.

Bring a sauce pan therr quaters way full to a rolling boil. Add soaked noodles and boil 1 minute. Drain in a colander, rinse in cold water, and transfer to bowl with chicken and shrimp.

To make dressing,in a bowl combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chili paste. Whisk till sugar dissolves. Toss with the noodle ,chicken and shrimp. Add the spring onion, Corriander and mint. Toss in the cabbage.

Place in a elongated serving dish and serve at room temperature.