Asparagus and Sesame Shrimp

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons olive oil
1&1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 large green onion, chopped
1 pound large shrimp
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare rice as label directs.

2. Meanwhile, in cup, combine salt, 2 teaspoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. In a pan, toss asparagus with oil mixture; roast 10 to 12 minutes, until tender.

3. In small bowl, whisk soy sauce, vinegar, green onion, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil; set aside dressing. Shell and devein shrimp.

4. In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add shrimp; sprinkle with red pepper and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Arrange shrimp, asparagus, and rice on 4 plates; drizzle with dressing.


Tip:

You can substitute long-grain aromatic basmati for the jasmine rice.

Shrimp & Garlic Spaghetti

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 whole pack of Spaghetti
1 pound medium shrimps, deveined, shelled and chopped coarsely.
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 tablespoons butter
5 cloves of garlic
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method:

- Put pasta to boil. Remember to toss in 1/4 cup of salt into boiling water with pasta. 10-12 mins.

- In the meantime, in a par or skillet, brown the garlic

- Toss in shrimps and chili flakes. As soon as the shrimps turn pink, remove.

- Using same skillet, toss in butter, return chilli/shrimps into it and cook thoroughly

- Toss in parsley and mix nicely

- Toss in pasta and mix until everything is distributed nicely. Serve hot!

Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Sauce

Serves 4


Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:

6 cups (1 head) cabbage, shredded
2 tablespoons canola oil
Fresh lime juice
Toasted sesame seeds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
32 medium shrimp (about 1 pound), peeled and deveined
1/4 cup Asian Cilantro Sauce


Asian Cilantro Sauce Ingredients: (makes 1/2 cup)

2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Pinch of crushed red pepper


Method:

1. Heat grill to high. In a large bowl, toss 6 cups shredded cabbage with 2 tablespoons canola oil, fresh lime juice, and toasted sesame seeds. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Thread 32 peeled and deveined medium shrimp on 8 skewers. Place in a shallow dish; toss with 1/4 cup of the Asian Cilantro Sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Grill until opaque, 2 to 4 minutes per side.

3. Serve the shrimp skewers with sesame cabbage, remaining 1/4 cup cilantro sauce, and lime wedges.


For the Asian Cilantro Sauce:

1. In blender, purée ingredients until smooth.

Note: If not using immediately, the sauce should be refrigerated; cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the sauce to preserve the bright color. This sauce will keep for up to three days.

Enjoy...

Courtesy of Martha Stewart

Seafood linguine

Serves 6


Ingredients:

2 pounds mussels or small hard-shell clams in shell, scrubbed
1 bottle clam juice
1/4 cup butter, divided use
3/4 cup sliced green onions
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pound medium-size raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
12 ounces fresh linguine
1/2 cup chopped parsley


Method:

- Pull beard from each mussel with a swift tug.

-Pour clam juice into a 5 to 6-quart pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add mussels; reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until shells pop open, about 5 to 10 minutes.

- Discard any unopened mussels. Drain mussels, reserving liquid; keep mussels warm. -- Strain cooking liquid to remove grit; reserve 1 cup of the liquid.

- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; then boil, uncovered, until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.

- Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add shrimp, then cover and remove from heat. Let stand until shrimp are opaque in center, about 8 minutes.

- Meanwhile, cook linguine in a about 3 quarts boiling water until al dente, about 1 to 2 minutes; or cook according to package directions. Drain well.

- Add pasta and parsley to shrimp mixture and toss gently to combine. Mound on serving platter and top with mussels.


Enjoy...

Seafood Paella

Paella is a one of the world's most famous rice dishes, and this version is a seafood extravaganza. My distant cousin's wife is morrocan and she makes it so well.
Traditionally, paella is prepared in a paellera (a wide, shallow pan with looped handles) and cooked over an outdoor fire. However, a large shallow frying pan makes an acceptable substitute.


Serves 4


Ingredients:

1 red onion
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes
16 large shrimps, deveined
2 squid tubes, cut into rings
12 fresh mussels
Plenty of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1&1/2 cup medium-grain rice
3 cups of heated fish or chicken stock
pinch of saffron
1&1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 a cup of defrosted green peas

Lemon wedges


Method:

1- Finely chop 1 red onion, dice 1 red and 1 green pepper, finely chop 4 cloves of garlic, and finely chop 2 tablespoons of fresh flat-leaf parsley.

2- Using a box grater, puree 2 ripe tomatoes, discarding the skin. Alternatively you can use a cup of canned peeled tomatoes mashed with a fork.

3- Peel and devein 16 large raw shrimp, cut 2 squid tubes into rings, and scrub and debeard 12 fresh mussels. Cover and refrigerate.

4- Start making the sofarito which is a Spanish tomato and onion sauce used as a flavor base for a variety of dishes. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium heat and cook the chopped red onion, 2 tablespoons of parsley and 3 of the chopped garlic cloves for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pureed tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of paprika and cook until all the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated and the sofrito has the consistency of jam. Transfer the sofrito to a small bowl and wipe clean the paella pan.

5- While the sofrito is cooking, place the mussels in a saucepan with half a cup of simmering water. Cover and steam on a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove mussels and set aside, discarding any that haven't opened.

6- Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium-high heat. Add the remaining clove of chopped garlic and the shrimp and cook for 1½ minutes, tossing continuously. Add the squid rings and cook for a further 1½ minutes. Remove the shrimp and squid from the paella pan and lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and set aside.

7- Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium heat and cook the diced red and green peppers for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8- Add the sofrito back to the pan along with 1&1/2 cups rice and cook for a minute, stirring to coat the grains.

9- Add 3 cups of heated fish or chicken stock, a pinch of saffron, 1&1/2 teaspoons sea salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, and bring to a rolling simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, uncovered without stirring. (To make sure the rice cooks evenly you will need to regularly move the paella pan around the heat source)

10- Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes without stirring. After 15 minutes, turn the heat up to medium-high for a minute or so until you can smell the rice toasting at the bottom, then remove the paella pan from the heat. (The toasted rice bottom of a paella is called socorrat and is highly prized.)

11- Push the reserved shrimp, mussels and squid into the cooked rice, and scatter with half a cup of defrosted green peas. Cover the pan with foil or a clean cloth, and let the paella rest for 5 minutes.

12- Present the paella in the pan at the table with lemon wedges on the side for drizzling.

Enjoy...

Shrimps on Lemongrass Skewers

Serves 2


Ingredients:

454g jumbo shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 lemon grass stalks or bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 4 hours or overnight
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cinatro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme


Method:

- Spear the head end and tail of each shrimp with a lemon grass stalk, placing 5 shrimps on each stalk.

- In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, pepper, salt, ginger, cilantro and thyme.

- Place the shrimp skewers in a rectangular glass baking dish and pour the marinade over them.

- Cover with pastic wrap and let merinade in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours.

- Heat a charcoal grill or broiler. Grill the shrimp until firm and pink, approxmimately 4 minutes.

- Serve skewers roasted corn and grilled veggies.


Enjoy...

Tom Yum Goong ~ Thai Shrimp Soup

Tom Yum is the most famous of Thai soups, it's a clear sour soup which is flavored with fresh lemon grass and kaffir lime leaf. The most well-known version uses shrimp (in Thai: goong, koon, kung)...

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
2 stalks fresh lemon grass, trim off the very end of the root and smash with the side of a cleaver of chef's knife; cut into 1 inch pieces; or 2 pc dried
3 slices fresh galangal root(smashed) or 2 pc dried
3 fresh kaffir lime leave or 4 pc dried
1 Tbsp. tamarind paste, with or without seeds
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
3/4 lb shrimps, medium to large size, shelled and de-veined; butterfly if desired
12 fresh Thai chili peppers, whole
1/2 small white onion, cut 1/4 inch slices
2 Tbsp. roasted chili paste (nam prik pao)
1 (16 oz.) can straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed
1 small ripe tomato, cut into wedges 1/4 inch thick
1 small lime, squeezed

2 Springs fresh cilantro

Preparation:

Bring water to boil over high heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, fish sauce and tamarind paste (break apart the tamarind paste with your fingers as you add it). Add the shrimp, bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes. Add the onion, nam prik pao and straw mushrooms. Boil for another 7 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through. Add the chile peppers and tomatoes. Turn off the heat. Add the lime juice. Taste to adjust the seasoning, adding fish sauce to taste. Garnish with cilatantro if desired and serve.


Serves 3 to 4.
Serve in this Soup Serving Pot.