With a little help from Trader Joe's
Shrimp and grits is a low country coastal Carolina and Georgia favorite. Southern Living Magazine put shrimp & grits in their top three of southern comfort food classics. Cheesy grits are rich and decadent and when paired with buttery gulf shrimp it makes the perfect meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner (Even midnight snack). Corn grits, in fact corn anything is virtually non existent in traditional Asian cuisines as corn is a new world crop and was not introduced to China until the 15th century. Even though China is now the world's largest producer of corn (most of it goes to feed livestock, and largely is converted into industrial uses-alcohols, ethanol, etc.) it hasn't made it's way into traditional dishes you can however find it western dishes and it's a favorite pizza topping. Maybe this dish will turn the tide. It's rich, spicy and multi textured. I use Trader Ming's Miso Ginger broth to cook the grits in and marinated the shrimp in General Tsao sauce to give the shrimp a sweet, spicy kick.
Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings
1 cup of corn grits
3 cups of Trader Joe's Ginger Miso Broth
½ teaspoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter
½ can of sliced water chestnuts diced
2 Cloves of garlic minced
3-4 jumbo Shrimp per person, peeled, deveined and cleaned
3-4 Japanese cucumbers or 1 English cucumber
1 teaspoon of smoked salt
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
2 teaspoons of sugar
½ cup of smoked salmon shredded and flaked
toasted sesame seeds
Shichimi Togarashi
For the Sunomono (cucumber salad):
Wash then cut the cumbers in half long ways. Thinly slice the cucumbers across the bias (short side) and place them into a bowl large enough to hold them. Once all of the cucumbers are sliced, sprinkle the salt over them and mix well put the cucumbers in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Mix the sugar with the vinegar and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved then let cool or refrigerate.
In a large deep pan (stock pot or large sauce pan) combine the Ginger Miso Broth and soy sauce and bring to a boil over high heat. Gradually stir in the corn grits. Reduce the heat and simmer gently to prevent the grits from sticking and burning. Add the diced water chestnuts and the butter and mix well. remove from the heat and cover while you cook the shrimp.
In a frypan or wok heat some oil until it shimmers and smokes. Then add the minced garlic and cook only until fragrant. Then add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes per side. At this point you can also stir fry some vegetables such as snow peas, baby bok choy, slivered carrots and sliced napa cabbage.
Put a serving of grits into an individual bowl for serving, place the shrimp on top and cover with the salsa of your choice. If the grits are thicker than your liking, top up each bowl some heated ginger miso broth. I like to add rice crackers or wasabi/siracha peas on top for a crunchy garnish. Take the cucumbers out of the refrigerator, taste them if they are too salty for your taste you may rinse them in cold water. Squeeze out the excess water and place a serving of cucumbers in serving dishes, sprinkle the flaked smoked salmon on top and cover with a spoonful of vinegar mixture. Garnish with sesame seeds and togarashi pepper.
Makes 4 servings
1 cup of corn grits
3 cups of Trader Joe's Ginger Miso Broth
½ teaspoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter
½ can of sliced water chestnuts diced
2 Cloves of garlic minced
3-4 jumbo Shrimp per person, peeled, deveined and cleaned
3-4 Japanese cucumbers or 1 English cucumber
1 teaspoon of smoked salt
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
2 teaspoons of sugar
½ cup of smoked salmon shredded and flaked
toasted sesame seeds
Shichimi Togarashi
For the Sunomono (cucumber salad):
Wash then cut the cumbers in half long ways. Thinly slice the cucumbers across the bias (short side) and place them into a bowl large enough to hold them. Once all of the cucumbers are sliced, sprinkle the salt over them and mix well put the cucumbers in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Mix the sugar with the vinegar and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved then let cool or refrigerate.
In a large deep pan (stock pot or large sauce pan) combine the Ginger Miso Broth and soy sauce and bring to a boil over high heat. Gradually stir in the corn grits. Reduce the heat and simmer gently to prevent the grits from sticking and burning. Add the diced water chestnuts and the butter and mix well. remove from the heat and cover while you cook the shrimp.
In a frypan or wok heat some oil until it shimmers and smokes. Then add the minced garlic and cook only until fragrant. Then add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes per side. At this point you can also stir fry some vegetables such as snow peas, baby bok choy, slivered carrots and sliced napa cabbage.
Put a serving of grits into an individual bowl for serving, place the shrimp on top and cover with the salsa of your choice. If the grits are thicker than your liking, top up each bowl some heated ginger miso broth. I like to add rice crackers or wasabi/siracha peas on top for a crunchy garnish. Take the cucumbers out of the refrigerator, taste them if they are too salty for your taste you may rinse them in cold water. Squeeze out the excess water and place a serving of cucumbers in serving dishes, sprinkle the flaked smoked salmon on top and cover with a spoonful of vinegar mixture. Garnish with sesame seeds and togarashi pepper.