Friday, May 14, 2010

From My Kitchen: Honey-Sesame Grilled Shrimp

Welcome back to my kitchen. I was looking for something super-yummy to share with you since this is the inaugural recipe in my weekly feature.

So I went digging through my recipe box and came across a long-forgotten recipe for these amazing Honey-Sesame Grilled Shrimp. I immediately changed our supper plans and made this dish instead.

The original recipe came from an insert in our Sunday paper probably 10 years ago. It called for uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined. But I'm lazy, so I buy cooked, tail-off frozen shrimp. That way I get to skip all of the prep work. This dish might be even better with fresh shrimp, but I repeat: I'm lazy. So I guess I'll never know.

While you need 30 minutes to marinate your shrimp, the cooking time is about 5 minutes so you can have this on the table in a flash. Be sure to save the marinade per the directions below.

Don't be tempted to leave out the dash of Tabasco. It doesn't make these shrimp spicy. It just adds a little heat. I've made it both ways (forgetfulness!) and the shrimp are still delish without the heat. 

The original recipe calls for these shrimp to be threaded on skewers, but I only do that if I'm putting them on the grill. Otherwise, I line a baking sheet with parchment paper and throw these little guys on the pan.

Serve these shrimp as a main dish with rice or noodles and a nice spinach salad with mandarin oranges and your favorite Asian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette. Or, serve them on a salad or baked potato. Leftovers are great that way, too. I paired these with artichokes the other night since they are now in season. Yum! 

Here's the recipe:

Honey-Sesame Grilled Sesame Shrimp
2 1/4 pounds uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (or thaw some cooked, tail-off frozen shrimp)
Marinade:
  1/4 C. Asian sesame oil (any sesame oil will do, really)
  1/4 C. rice wine or dry sherry
  1/4 C. soy sauce (I use low sodium)
  2 Tbsp. honey
  2 cloves garlic, crushed with side of cleaver
  1 tsp. ground ginger
  2 trimmed scallions, white part flattened with side of cleaver (Reserve finely chopped green part for serving)
  1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
  1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
For serving: 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, finely chopped scallion green

Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until honey dissolves. Stir in shrimp. (Or save yourself some dishes. Throw the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Squish things around until the honey dissolves and throw the shrimp in the bag. See? Lazy.) Marinate at least 30 minutes.

If you don't have fresh garlic, you can substitute minced or even dried. I always have a jar of minced garlic in the fridge and that's what I use. Keyword? Lazy.

The original recipe called for fresh ginger, but I don't keep that on hand. Ground ginger and a teaspoon I have. All together now! LAZY.

Trim your scallions. Lay the flat side of your cleaver on the white part and give it a good smack with your hand so the onion splits and the juices run. Chop the green part and reserve for serving.

Toast the sesame seeds by throwing them in a dry skillet on medium heat. Stir them until golden. Watch them closely, because they'll toast quickly!

Preheat grill or broiler to high. Drain shrimp and reserve marinade. I like to cut off the bottom corner of my Ziploc so I can pour the marinade in the pan while the shrimp stay in the bag. Boil marinade until thick and syrupy, about 4 minutes.

Thread shrimp on skewers or toss on a parchment-paper-covered baking sheet. Grill/broil until cooked (or heated) through, about 2 minutes per side, basting with marinade if you'd like. Don't overcook, or your shrimp will get tough. They'll still taste delicious, but more like dog chews than tender shrimp.

Sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds before serving. You can serve any leftover marinade as well.

Enjoy!

© Trippin' Mama 2010

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