15 Minute Meal - Thai Grilled Lemongrass Shrimp

Life has been super-busy lately (hence the lack of blog posts!) so it has been more of an effort than usual to cook up healthy meals at home vs. taking the easy path of take out or pizza delivery. I am trying really hard to take the high road. Recipes like the one below make it a bit easier.



This recipe (from Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman's Simple to Spectacular) took a total of around 20 minutes. I made the marinade and skewered the shrimp early in the day and that took around 10 minutes, then cooking the shrimp, veggies, and rice took about 10 minutes right before dinner. It was very tasty and easy. Here are my notes:

• The lemongrass is the trickiest part of this recipe. It isn't always that easy to find, and then trying to manipulate it into a skewer took a few minutes for me to figure out. I think it is worth the difficulty though, it imparts a flavor that is impossible to replicate.


• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce) is actually VERY easy to find these days in the Asian section of almost any regular grocery store. Despite the name, it doesn't taste fishy at all...it just adds some depth and savoriness that is hard to describe.


• I used regular canola oil instead of the grapeseed oil.


• I was considering skipping the dipping sauce but was glad I didn't. It was quite good.


• I broiled the shrimp for about 3 minutes a side vs. grilling them because it was raining.


• For the first side dish, I sauteed sugar snap peas and sliced button mushrooms in sesame oil with a splash of soy sauce. I tossed the finished product with toasted sesame seeds. I could have eaten the veggies alone with some brown rice as a meal, they were that yummy. The sesame oil really makes the difference here...it imparts a distinctly Asian flavor. I also served Trader Joe's Thai Style Rice with Coconut Milk. This was delicious, and I love the fact that all you have to do is cut the corner off the plastic bag and microwave it for 3 minutes...couldn't be easier.

Ingredients

24 Medium to large shrimp (peeled and deveined)

5 Stalks lemongrass

2 Teaspoons minced chiles

1 Teaspoon minced garlic

2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Teaspoons grapeseed oil

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 Teaspoons sugar

• Peel and mince one of the lemongrass stalks then toss it and the shrimp in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of the minced chiles, the garlic, 2 teaspoons of nam pla, a little salt and pepper, and the grapeseed oil.


• Remove the outer sheath from the remaining lemongrass stalks and trim them so they are about 10 inches long and less than 1/4 inch thick at the thin end. Bang each of the stalks several times with a knife. Skewer the shrimp onto them and marinade in the lemongrass mixture.


• Start a charcoal or gas grill or preheat the broiler; the fire should be hot and the rack 2 to 4 inches from the heat source. Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon chiles, 2 tablespoons nam pla, the lime juice, and sugar to make a dipping sauce and set aside.


• Grill or broil the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.