Thai Chili Lemongrass Grilled Shrimp with Sweet Basil & Lime Fried Rice
Lemongrass is a widely used herb in South East Asian cuisine. It has a wonderful fresh citrus flavor and is used extensively to flavor teas, soups and curries. It is also used to attract and lure swarms of bees to hives and as a popular medicinal herb in India.(1)
This week’s recipe is a great one for the BBQ this summer and the accompanying fried rice is packed with exotic Asian flavors……Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 lb large shrimp – peeled & cleaned
4 cups cooked rice
FOR THE MARINADE:
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime (or lemon) juice
1 TBS chili paste (sambal oelek or sriracha)
1 stalk lemongrass bruised with a rolling pin & sliced
1 red (or green) jalapeno – seeded & diced
2 serrano (or other spicy) peppers – seeded and diced
20 Thai (or other) basil leaves – diced
1/4 cup palm sugar
1 TBS oil (I used olive oil)
4 garlic cloves – minced
FOR THE RICE:
1 TBS chili garlic paste (or sambal oelek or sriracha)
30 Thai sweet basil leaves
1 ear corn – kernels cut from cob (or equivalent canned or frozen) – optional
1 bunch enoki mushrooms) – optional
2 limes
fresh cilantro
4 TBS vegetable oil
3 shallots – diced
4 scallions – sliced thinly
6 garlic cloves – minced
2 red (or green) jalapenos
2 TBS fish sauce (or oyster sauce)
3 TBS oyster sauce
1 red bell pepper – seeded & chopped
DIRECTIONS
Cook your rice to net 4 cups cooked rice. Clean the shrimp.
Bruise the lemongrass by smashing it with a rolling pin to split the sides. This releases the flavor & aroma. Chop it up in 1-2 inch chunks.
Whisk the fish sauce with the juice of your lime and then whisk in the sugar until it dissolves. Combine all the other ingredients (chili paste, lemongrass ,jalapeno, serranos, chopped basil, oil & garlic_ and toss with the shrimp to coat completely. Marinate in a glass bowl or zip lock bag – in the fridge – for as long as possible (at least an hour but 3-4 is even better). Agitate the marinade ever 30 minutes or so to evenly distribute flavors.
Heat a grill or grill pan & cook your shrimp over high heat until JUST cooked through. Err on the side of under-cooked as they will continue to cook after being removed from the heat.
In a wok or other large frying or saute pan, heat the oil and add the chopped shallots, garlic, scallions, jalapenos, bell pepper, corn, mushrooms, & about HALF of the chopped basil. After a few minutes, add the fish sauce, the chili garlic paste and saute another 5 minutes or so. Add the 4 cups of cooked rice & blend well. Right before serving – stir in the rest of the chopped basil and squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
Serve by placing a portion of rice on each plate & several grilled shrimp. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro & be sure to squeeze fresh lime over the rice AND the shrimp. Place a lime wedge on each dish. Serve!
(1)wikipedia
Original recipe courtesy of www.delightfuldeliciousdelovelyblog@wordpress.com Photo courtesy of Christine Elisa McCarthy 2014
