Tag Archives: shrimp

Seafood

Thai Sweet and Salty Shrimp

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Thai Sweet and Salty Shrimp

Thai Sweet and Salty ShrimpWhen I was a little kid shrimp was the only seafood that I would eat. As I got older my tastes broadened but shrimp remained one of my favorites. Here’s a simple and quick recipe that tastes a lot more complicated than it is. I adapted this in the New York Times where they give credit to Kris Yenbamroong and Ali Slagle.

 

Thai Sweet and Salty Shrimp

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb. medium to large cleaned, shelled shrimp
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 tbsp. Asian fish sauce or coloratura di alici
  • 1 tbsp. white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp. finely chopped roasted salted peanuts
  • 1 tbsp. lime juice
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced  green and white
  • Red pepper flakes
Dry the shrimp and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Mix the fish sauce, vinegar, oil, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Heat a frying pan to medium high and add the mix. When it begins to simmer, add the shrimp, and cook until it begins to color on both sides.Thai Sweet and Salty Shrimp
Add the peanuts, lime juice,  scallions, and red pepper. Stir to combine and serve.
Thai Sweet and Salty Shrimp

Thai Sweet and Salty Shrimp

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Seafood, Sides, Vegetarian

Shrimp Fried Rice

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Shrimp Fried Rice

This is a fast-cooking recipe so have all the ingredients prepared and ready to add to the pan. In place of, or in addition to the peas and carrots use what ever vegetables you like – broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus. Instead of shrimp try this with a boneless pork chop cut into small pieces. Someday I think I’ll make it with pancetta for a Chinese-Italian fusion.
Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients:
  • 6 oz shrimp (small shrimp or large cut small)
  • Salt & black pepper
  • 2 tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil divided
  • ½ chopped onion
  • ¾ cup peas & carrots
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups cooked rice (cold)
  • 1 tbsp. each soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, oyster sauce
  • 3 tbsp. chopped green onion
Preheat a large fry pan or wok to medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Sauté the shrimp with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until they start to color. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.Shrimp Fried Rice
Add the onion, peas and carrots and cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Slide the onion, peas, and carrots to the side (if you pan isn’t big enough, temporally remove the vegetables) and pour the beaten egg onto the other side. Cook the egg, break it up mix it with the vegetables.Shrimp Fried Rice

 

Shrimp Fried Rice
Add the rice and mix thoroughly with the egg and vegetables. Then add the shrimp. Pour in one tablespoon each of the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and oyster sauce. Stir and fry until everything is combined.  Add chopped green onions and serve.Shrimp Fried Rice

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Shrimp with Chard and Ginger

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Shrimp with Chard and Ginger

Here’s another one adapted from Melissa Clark (my favorite chef) in the New York Times.

 

Shrimp with Chard and GingerIngredients:
  • 1 lb. large shrimp
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt for seasoning shrimp
  • 1 bunch chard, washed (about ½ lb.)
  • Olive oil for frying
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 thinly sliced hot chili (optional)
  • 1 medium shallot chopped
  • 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
  • 2 tsps. Brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsps. white wine or sherry vinegar
Blot the shrimp dry and season with salt. Cut the stems off of the chard up to where the leaves begin. Roll a hand full of chard leaves like a cigar and cut it into ¼ inch strips.
Shrimp with Chard and Ginger
Shrimp with Chard and Ginger
Add some olive oil to a large skillet and on medium hear lightly brown the shrimp on each side. Remove the shrimp to a dish, add some more oil and add the garlic, chili (if you’re using), shallot and ginger. Sauté for about 3 minutes and then add the sugar and season with salt and black pepper.
Put the greens in the skillet with ¼ cup of water. Mix to coat them with the liquid in the pan. Cover and steam for a few minutes so the greens wilt. Return the shrimp to heat them, drizzle with the vinegar and serve.
Shrimp with Chard and Ginger

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Seafood Sauce

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Seafood Sauce

For this one I used clams, mussels, shrimp and lobster tails. Add what you like, crabs, scallops, octopus, fish filets, etc. It’s important to steam the clams and mussels separate from the sauce. One sandy clam or mussel can ruin a whole pot of sauce.

Seafood Sauce

Ingredients:
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Salt, black and red pepper to taste
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • ½ tsp. oregano
  • 2 – 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
  • 12 little neck clams
  • 18 mussels
  • 1 doz. shrimp cleaned and shelled
  • 2 lobster tails cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 lb. linguine
Start a pot of salted water for the linguine.
Lightly sauté the garlic in oil in a pot large enough to hold the sauce and shellfish. Add salt, red, and black pepper to taste and the oregano. Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
The clams and mussels need to be steamed in a separate pot in case any are sandy. Heat one & a half cups of water and add the shellfish. (Clams and mussels take different amounts of time so it’s easier to do them separately.) Cover the pot and let it steam 8 to 12 minutes (until they open). Discard any shellfish that didn’t open. Add the shellfish to the tomatoes sauce and carefully pour the remaining broth into the sauce leaving any sand behind.Seafood Sauce
Seafood Sauce
 

Seafood Sauce

Start to cook the linguine and at the same time add the lobster and shrimp to the sauce. When the pasta is done the sauce will be too. Put the pasta, and shellfish sauce in a serving platter and serve. Please, it’s seafood so no cheese on this sauce.

Seafood Sauce

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Seafood

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

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Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

This is a quick recipe and a great way to prepare shrimp. You can make it with 2 cups of any kind of frozen vegetables you like. If you don’t have toasted sesame oil, substitute olive oil.

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb shrimp, peeled and cleaned
  • 5 tbsp. sesame oil, divided
  • Salt
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 cups mixed frozen vegetables
  • 1 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
Heat 2 tablespoon of sesame oil in pan over medium heat. Put in the shrimp. season lightly with salt and cook for 1 minute on each side.
Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry
Remove the shrimp from the pan and put in the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil.
Add the onion, a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes  on medium heat until it begins to soften. Add in the vegetables, garlic and soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and cook about 1 minute.

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

Return the shrimp and toss until everything is well mixed and the shrimp is completely cooked. Serve with rice.

 

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Cajun Shrimp

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Cajun Shrimp

Whenever I go to New Orleans I over eat. It’s that combination of ingredients that you get in NOLA classic dishes that can’t be beat. With Cajun spice, shrimp and green onions this one really comes together.

Cajun Shrimp

Ingredients:
  1. ¼ cup soy sauce
  2. 3 tbsps. olive oil
  3. 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  4. 1 tbsp. brown mustard
  5. 1 tsp. Cajun spice mix
  6. 2 tbsps. brown sugar
  7. 2 minced garlic cloves
  8. 2 tbsps. butter
  9. 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  10. Salt & black pepper
  11. sliced green onions
Thoroughly mix the first 7 ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the sauce and blend with the butter for a few minutes.

Cajun Shrimp

Add the shrimp to the pan. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until the shrimp are done. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper is needed. Soy sauce can be salty. Cajun Shrimp
We served it with spelt and it also goes well with rice. Add some chopped green onions and a dash of hot sauce.

Cajun Shrimp

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Seafood, Soup, Vegetarian

Shrimp and Bean Soup

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Shrimp and Bean Soup

My doctor says everyone should eat more beans and greens and less red meat. I’m trying, so here’s another bean and something recipe – Shrimp and Bean Soup. This one is from Evelyn. She adapted it from an old family recipe. You can use any kind of dried beans you like. I’m using Goya’s habichuelas blancas (small white beans).

Shrimp and Bean Soup

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb. beans (not canned)
  • Olive oil for frying
  • 2 cups Italian coarsely chopped trinity
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 lb. medium shrimp
To start – Pick through the beans and rinse them. Put them in a pot with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil and turn off heat. Let them sit for one hour. Or you can let them stand in 4 cups of cold water overnight.

Shrimp and Bean Soup

In the meantime – Hear some oil in a large pot. Cook the trinity until it’s soft, about 10 minutes. Add 6 cups of water, the beans, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender.

Shrimp and Bean Soup

Shrimp and Bean Soup

Remove a cup of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor and return them to the pot to thicken the soup. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick, add water. Put the shrimp in the pot, stir and cook for 5 – 8 minutes until done. Serve in individual bowls with a sprinkling of olive oil.

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp

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Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp

Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp

I was in the mood for shrimp and came across this recipe – Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp – on Alyssa River’s site The Recipe Critic. It’s simple and quick to make and yet has some very complex flavors. I served it with faro which went well with the sauce. Rice goes well too.

Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp

Ingredients:
  1. ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
  2. 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  3. 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  4. 1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
  5. 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
  6. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  7. 2 tablespoons butter
  8. 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  9. Black pepper
  10. Sliced green onions, for garnish
Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp
Mix the first six ingredients together in a bowl to make the sauce. Put the butter in a frying pan on high heat. When it melts, add the sauce and let it reduce for a few minutes.
Cajun Garlic Butter ShrimpAdd the shrimp to the pan and sprinkle with black pepper. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the shrimp is done. Garnish with the chopped green onions. Really good and easy to make.

Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp

Also good with snow peas and rice.

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Essays & Rants

Excerpt from Memories of the Fisherman’s Wharf

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A drawing my sister Nicki made of the Fisherman’s Wharf

Excerpt from Memories of the Fisherman’s Wharf

I grew up in a seafood restaurant. My family owned The Fisherman’s Wharf on Mott Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy from the mid-1940s to 1958. . . The offerings were mostly seafood but there was also steak and chicken, as well as some Italian-American dishes like spaghetti and meatballs. I loved shrimp, and the deep-fried breaded gamberetto with lots of ketchup was my favorite. The shrimp and rice special was pretty good too. Only, I’d have to pick out all of the pieces of celery before I ate it—I didn’t eat any green food back then except pickles. . .

Excerpt from Memories of the Fisherman's Wharf

. . . they usually started with a few drinks and dinner in one of the local restaurants; Sweet’s, Carmine’s, or Sloppy Louie’s, now all long gone. . .

Excerpt from Memories of the Fisherman's Wharf

. . . Anyone could walk out on the pier where they docked, although no one did unless they were in the seafood business. The pier smelled of sea water and fish, and while the fish couldn’t have been fresher, it still smelled, especially in summer. . .

. . . the piles of clams and oysters heaped like stones. What seemed like sea monsters to me were the giant, decapitated swordfish, sliced crosswise to show the quality of the steaks, the heads on display, their swords pointing at the customers. Always enthralled with crabs, I loved chasing the escapees skittering sideways down the street. . .

. . . The longshoreman worked all night, so instead of scrambled eggs or pancakes, they’d eat a hearty meal of roast beef and turkey with fried potatoes and hot cherry peppers. Everyone drank coffee, steins of beer, and shots of whiskey. I’d have a Coke but otherwise ate everything they did. The cook would tell my father, “The kid’s got a good appetite.”

. . . For some of the clam dishes, Michele often used large chowder clams he’d chop into small pieces, and that’s what led to the problem in the cellar. The clams were kept on ice and covered with damp burlap to keep them alive and fresh. Sometimes when clams are out of water, the shells begin to open. . .

. . .  I wasn’t to go near the lobsters which had much stronger claws than the crabs. They came packed in seaweed and ice, in open-sided crates, with wooden pegs wedged into the joint at the base of their claws so they couldn’t open them.
“Pero,” Michele said, “some-a time, the peg, she slip out.”
Michele hardly had to warn me. The lobsters’ fierce looks were enough to keep me away. . .
For the complete Memories of the Fisherman’s Wharf
For Michele’s Deep Fried Breaded Gamberetto and Shrimp and Rice

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

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Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Michele was the chef at my Uncle Charlie’s restaurant, The Fisherman’s Wharf. This was one of my favorites.

Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Rinse the shrimp and blot them dry. Season with salt and pepper. Beat the egg with about two tablespoons of the milk. Dip the shrimp into the egg wash and drip off any excess. Coat with the breadcrumbs and place on a rack for 30 minutes.

Michele’s Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Heat the oil to 375o. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a few breadcrumbs in the oil, and if it sizzles, it’s hot enough. Deep fry until golden.

Micheles Breaded Deep Fried Gamberetto

Serve with lemon wedges and Heinz Chili Sauce on the side.

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