Crispy Shrimp Spring Rolls

Yield: 24 spring rolls
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 (3.5oz) package shitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 12oz medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. peanut oil for stir-frying
• 4 cups peanut oil for deep-frying spring rolls
• 1/2 package wonton wrappers
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt.
2. Finely chop garlic, green onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp. peanut oil on medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
4. Add garlic and green onions and stir-fry for 1 minute.
5. Add celery, carrots, and mushrooms.  Stir-fry for 6 minutes.
6. Add shrimp and stir-fry for 1 minute.
7. Transfer to bowl and allow mixture to cool before filling wontons.
8. Lay the wonton to look like a diamond in front of you.
9. Place 2 tsp. filling mixture and spread out to form a line in the bottom third of wonton wrapper.
10. Fold in sides of wrapper.
11. Fold bottom side up over filling and begin to roll tightly.
12. Brush egg wash over very tip of wonton wrapper and finish rolling to completely seal.
13. Heat 4 cups peanut oil to medium-high heat and fry rolled spring rolls for 3-4 minutes until browned on all sides.
14. Serve immediately.

Step-by-Step Instruction:  “How to Fold a Spring Roll”

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Peruvian Shrimp Ceviche

Yield: 20 appetizer servings    Prep Time: 20 minutes     Active Time: 30 minutes

My husband and I recently bought our first home.  The second day we moved in, we were tearing down walls and opening up counter-space for my dream kitchen!  We may have slightly under-estimated how much work a full kitchen remodel actually would be, but hey, we’re young and determined!  I initially thought, “Ok in a month when this kitchen remodel is done, we will throw a house-warming party.”  Ha!  A month?  In my dreams!    Sooooo…here we are 5 months later and the time had finally come.  We invited friends, old and new, into our “brand new” house.

I decided that I wanted to attempt shrimp ceviche for the party.  I had never made this before, but we were in Vegas for a wedding last summer and had the most amazing ceviche at Sushi Samba in the Palazzo.  The next time you’re in Vegas stop in.  They have a very reasonable happy hour from 4-7pm Sunday-Friday that offers $6 mojitos and $6 appetizer specials one of them being a shrimp ceviche that I couldn’t get out of my head for months.  The shrimp was perfectly acidic and complimented by sweet tropical fruit and a kick of spice from aji peppers.

So here I was attempting to recreate this wonderful concoction from what was now a faint memory from months prior.  Aji peppers are not easy to find…yet!  I have a feeling we will be seeing these in more abundance in coming months as the Peruvian food scene really kicks off.  I decided to make my ceviche with beautiful fresno peppers for their bright red color and the kick of heat they provide.  I paired this with shrimp that was marinated in a blend of lemon, lime, and orange juice.  Mangoes and papayas were the fruit of choice, jicama for crunch, and creamy mashed avocados on the side to bring it all together.  I thought about making plantain chips which I think I would attempt next time, but for times sake I just fried up some corn tortillas and sprinkled them with a bit of lime and salt.

I most likely marinated my shrimp MUCH longer than needed.  After reading up on other recipes, I see the marinating time ranges from 4 minutes to 30 minutes at most.  Since I had never done this before, and am a freak about food safety, I went for 4 hours hoping to see the shrimp turn pink.  This really didn’t happen.  Not in the way you see when you saute shrimp.  What you want to look for is the shrimp to become opaque.  Once they are opaque, remove them from the fruit juices and toss with the other ingredients except the avocado.  My shrimp still had a good texture to them, but you live and you learn.  Now I know for next time!

Final result, YUM!!!!

SHRIMP CEVICHE

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds medium raw shrimp
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup lime juice
• 2 mangos, diced
• 1/2 papaya, diced
• 1 cup jicama, diced
• 4 Tbsp. red onion, minced
• 2 fresno chiles, seeded, deveined, and minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. minced cilantro
• 6 avocados, coarsely mashed
• corn tortilla chips, for serving

Directions:

1. Peel shrimp, remove tails, and coarsely chop.
2. Mix together orange, lemon, and lime juice in a medium bowl.  Pour juice over shrimp making sure shrimp are entirely covered.  Cover with shrink wrap and refrigerate checking every few minutes.  Once shrimp turn opaque, drain shrimp in a colander.
3. Toss together mangoes, papaya, jicama, red onion, fresno chiles, salt, and cilantro.  Fold in cooked shrimp.
4. Serve with avocado mash and tortilla chips.

 

Shrimp Gumbo with Red Beans and Rice

 

Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds medium to large shrimp, raw with shells on
• 3 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup onion, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup celery, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 7 cups shrimp stock
• 1 cup beef stock
• 3/4 pound Andouille sausage, sliced in 1/2″ circles
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• dash of hot sauce
• 3 cups long-grain rice, dry
• 1 (15oz) can red beans, drained and rinsed
• Green onions to garnish

DIrections:

1. Peel and devein shrimp reserving shells for making shrimp stock.
2. In a small bowl, combine cayenne pepper, paprika, white and black pepper.
3. Season shrimp with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper mixture.
4. Next, make a dark roux.  To do this, heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add flour slowly and stir very frequently until roux turns a dark-copper brown.  This may take up to 45 minutes, but I promise, it is SOOOO worth it.  The deep intense flavor of this dish comes from this roux.  Don’t cheat and try to speed up the process by cranking the heat up.  This will cause your roux to smoke and then you have to throw it out and start over (trust me, I know from experience!).
5. When your roux has finally turned a dark-copper brown, add onions, celery, pepper, garlic, bay leaves, remaining salt and remaining pepper mixture and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add both shrimp stock and beef stock and simmer for 1 1/2 hours skimming fat off top as it accumulates.  Save 1 Tbsp. of skimmed fat and saute Andouille on high until browned.
7. Add Andouille, thyme, oregano, basil, Worcestershire, and hot sauce.  Stir to combine and allow flavors to develop for another hour.
8. Remove bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Prepare rice and combine with red beans.  Right before serving add shrimp to gumbo and cook until just pink.  Don’t overcook shrimp or they will become tough and rubbery.
10. Spoon gumbo over rice and garnish with green onions.