Shrimp with Red Chiles, Ginger, Garlic and Scallions

We're bringing back the heat with this shellfish dish. It goes best on a bed of sticky white rice both in terms of look and in terms of helping to put out the fire you'll be starting in your taste buds. But you know me, I like the heat. In fact, I'll probably increase the heat the next time I make it. I mean, it's only got three kinds of heat right now, why not go for a fourth or fifth to keep the flavor round? This comes courtesy of Fine Cooking but they don't have the recipe available online. The 101 Quick and Delicious Recipes issue is likely to leave the news stands as well.

Apparently, I went through a stretch where I forgot to take pictures. Sorry about that. Anyway, the menu:

Sticky white rice
Sauteed broccoli with Parmesan
Shrimp with Red Chiles, Ginger, Garlic & Scallions
Ultimate Dinner Roll
Apple Juice

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher Salt
5 Tbls. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 fresh red hot chiles (fresno or jalapeno) seeded and thinly sliced
I used serrano chiles since I couldn't find fresnos. Serranos are hotter than jalapenos.
NB: Any time you seed peppers, use gloves. The capsicum will give you a chemical burn after a little while. It's a real pain when some of it gets under your fingernails.........at least so I've been told.......by a little birdie. Really.
1 Tbls Finely chopped fresh ginger
2 Bunches scallions (aka: Green onions) trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 Tbls Fresh lemon juice; more if desired


1) Pull out a big saute pan and put it on high heat for 1 minute. While the pan is heating sprinkle 1/2 Tsp. of the kosher salt over the shrimp.

2) Add 2 Tbls. of the EVOO to the heated pan and then immediately add the shrimp, garlic, chiles, and ginger.

3) Saute the whole batch, tossing it frequently. You'll know it's done when the shrimp have browned, or pinked as the case may be. (Uncooked Shrimp are gray to begin with.) Either way, they will no longer be translucent.

4) Move the whole batch to a plate and add another 2 Tbls. EVOO to the skillet along with the scallions and another 1/4 Tsp of kosher salt.

5) Saute those until they've wilted and started to go brown around the edges. It should only take about 2 minutes.

6) Add the shrimp back to the mix for half a minute and toss everything well.

7) Pull it off the heat and stir in the cilantro, lemon juice and that last tablespoon of EVOO.

8) Taste it one last time and make any adjustments to the seasonings that you think it needs.

9) Serve immediately

I sliced the serranos lengthwise for this, I suppose you could slice them crosswise if you wanted smaller chile bits in the mixture. I might try more of an Orange Ginger kind of sauce on this next time by substituting orange juice for the lemon juice here. We're looking at the same acids so it might work. I'll have to try it. The Broccoli with Parmesan didn't really complement here like I was hoping. It was too heavy. This needs a lighter kind of vegetable. Maybe something cold like coleslaw. I think the saute would work, but use a different vegetable. The whole recipe should serve 4.

Health Info:
4 Meat servings.
1 Fat serving.

::Malloreth out::