Shrimp in coconut tomatillo sauce

I found myself with a few extras yesterday.  Some uncooked shrimp from a party, a can of coconut milk and some leftover tomatillo salsa that was initially meant for chilaquiles.  I wondered what mixing the coconut milk and salsa would taste like so I gave it a shot.  The salsa was made up of tomatillos, onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, oregano and bay leaves.  I added this to a mason jar with coconut milk and shook it up, this is the result.

The rest was simple to make.  I started by sauteeing onions and garlic in a pan before adding the shrimp.  I cooked the shrimp until it was almost cooked through.  I then added the coconut milk/salsa mixture and let it come to a simmer.  I removed the shrimp and left the sauce in the pan to simmer for a couple of more minutes.  I added pumpkin seeds at the last minute for a bit of crunch.  I finished by pouring the sauce over the shrimp.



The sauce was delicious and rich, but the tomatillo and lime also brought some freshness into the dish.  The pumpkin seeds added a nice crunch as well.  I saved some sauce and will be making this again, but perhaps with some cilantro and onion on top.

soups!

I haven't updated in a while but I wanted to share some recent soups I've made.  This seems to be all I've been making lately and I'm ok with that.  Soup is one of my favorite things to make and there are so many opportunities for pulling out great flavors.

First I wanted to start with this great lobster bisque I had the chance to make.  My dad got a dozen lobsters for his birthday as a gift from my younger brother.  After all the meat was removed I boiled the shells in white wine with some garlic, onion, meyer lemon peel, szechuan pepper, thyme, bay leaves and a touch of cumin. After a few hours of boiling I strained the broth and blended in some mashed potato to help thicken the soup along with some heavy cream.  I stirred in some lobster meat and I was good to go!

I have also recently made frijoles charros.  To prepare this I took uncooked pinto beans and simmered for several hours along with sauteed onion, garlic, bay leaves and chile guajillo.  In a separate pan i cooked down bacon along with onion, garlic and chile poblano.  I added the beans with the broth to the bacon.  The flavor was excellent, I just wish it came out a bit more spicy.

Last up is a tom kha soup I made with shrimp.  I first fried some shrimp shells in a pan, I then added some white wine to deglaze the pan and added coconut milk and a bit of water.  I boiled for about an hour to draw out as much shrimp flavor as I could before straining.  In another pan I cooked down garlic, ginger, serrano chile and lemongrass.  I covered with the coconut shrimp broth and cooked together for another half hour.  While this cooked I added red bell pepper, kale as well as the shrimp towards the end.  I served this soup over noodles and topped with sliced scallion, it was very satisfying and had a ton of flavor.

 

 

family cookout!

I went to my parent's house for a cookout with the family today.  There were a few flavors that I have been thinking about that I wanted to try out and offered to make some salads.

The first salad is kind of a take on a Vietnamese green papaya and shrimp salad.  I wanted to incorporate some Mexican flavors, my thinking was that there are a lot of similar flavors that work well between the two cuisines.  To prepare this I combined jicama, shrimp, red bell pepper and scallions which then I tossed in a sauce made from lime juice and agave nectar.  I then added 8 cloves worth of toasted minced garlic for crunch and flavor.  To finish I folded in some sliced avocado.

Next I made a corn salad with flavors similar to an elote.  I first took sweet corn off the cob and blanched for a couple of minutes.  After cooling I added red bell pepper and scallions and lime juice.  To finish I stirred in a bit of mayonnaise and cotija cheese.

Finally I made a fruit salad with chopped mango, pineapple and papaya.  I tossed this in a combination of lime juice and orange juice.  To finished I mixed in some fresh mint.

smoked shrimp curry

Over the weekend I got the opportunity to check out Calumet Fisheries on the south side.  Once I walked in and smelled the smoked fish, I knew I was in heaven.  I picked up a lovely piece of smoked salmon (more on that later) as well as a few pieces of smoked shrimp.

I got to work on the shrimp by splitting them in half, discarding the vein and holding on to the shells to make a flavorful broth.

I began by taking the shrimp shells and frying them in a sautee pan before placing in the oven to roast until crispy and the shell turns a more solid pink.

After removing from the oven I placed teh sautee pan back on the burner and added water and proceed to boil to extract as much of the flavor from the shells as possible.

As the shells boiled I added to another pan onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeño, cumin and coriander, and sauteed until the onion turned opaque.  I added a couple of diced potato as well as a few ladlefulls of shrimp broth and slowly simmered.

 Just before the potato finished cooking I added back the shrimp meat and let everything simmer together.  The starch in the potato helped to thicken the sauce a bit.  To serve I placed over a bed of brown rice that was cooked in remaining shirmp broth.



The dish was delicious.  The way the smokey flavors of the shrimp worked in conjunction with the heat and spices in the curry really made for a satisfying dish.  The flavor of the shrimp broth really shined through in the dish.  I will definitely be heading back to Calument Fisheries soon to pick up some more soon!

green coconut curry with shrimp, potatoes and peas

A friend dropped off a good deal of these huge great looking serranos and I thought that green coconut curry would be the perfect way to use a few of them.  Now, I’m not expert on curries or the exact spices that are involved, I have a general idea and I’ve been trying to approximate the flavor as much as possible.  I feel that this version has been the most successful so far.

To start I made a green sauce by throwing tons of cilantro, spring onion tops, serrano chiles, poblanos, garlic and ginger into a food processer until it formed a paste.  I then added tumeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt, pepper and a bit of water to complete the green sauce.

In a hot pan I melted some ghee and sautéed some onion and coconut flakes.  I added coconut flakes early on so they would toast and get a bit caramelized.  This added enough sweetness to the dish to avoid adding sugar.  To this I added diced potatoes and the green sauce.  Once the potatoes softened I added some coconut milk and my frozen peas.  The last step was adding the shrimp.  I continued to cook the entire dish until the shrimp got pink and cooked through.

The pungent green sauce with the cool sweetness of coconut milk worked great together and really went well with the shrimp.  I served with some basmati rice on the side to soak up the delicious sauce.

Overall, I really enjoyed the dish, it makes for a good meal.  I think I would’ve preferred it a bit more spice and tang to the sauce so for next time I’m going to add more chiles and a bit of lime to the sauce.