A few months ago, I discovered The Splendid Table on NPR. It's now one of my favorite parts of the weekend. If I can't catch it at 2:00 on Saturday, I listen to the podcast while I cook dinner on Sunday night. Lynne Rossetto Kasper has a captivating, eloquent way of talking about food, so that it's possible to visualize a perfectly cooked pasta dish while driving to Target or cleaning the bathroom (oh yes, I really live it up on Saturday afternoons). I am still fairly new to cooking, but as I listen to Lynne explaining how to cook a crown roast or make grape chutney in that soothing voice (always prefaced by "Here's what you're going to do"), I feel like I can achieve any culinary accomplishment I put my mind to.
I was excited to try some of Lynne's recipes, so I tracked down a copy of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper at my library. So far my favorite recipe is the Pan-Crisped Deviled Eggs on French Lettuces, with this shrimp recipe as a close second. It has a lot of flavor from the chili powder, ginger, and garlic, but none of the ingredients overwhelm the dish.
Adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift
Ingredients:
For the brine:
- 1/4 cup non-iodized sea salt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 4 cups warm water
- 12 ounces large frozen shrimp
- 2 cloves of garlic
- piece of ginger, about 2 inches long by 1 inch in diameter, peeled
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- dash of salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons sugar
For serving:
- jasmine rice
In a medium bowl, combine the salt, 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, chili powder, and water. Add shrimp and allow to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the rice. Finely mince the garlic and ginger together.
Drain shrimp and pat dry. Heat the oil in a medium pan at medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and ginger, a dash of salt, and pepper. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Mix in 2 teaspoons sugar and continue stirring until garlic is pale gold, about one additional minute.
Add the shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp are pink and barely firm, about one more minute. Turn into serving bowl and serve over jasmine rice.
