Steamed Shrimp With Lemon Grass Coconut Sauce Recipes

STEAMED SHRIMP WITH LEMONGRASS-COCONUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Trim the ends from the lemongrass, then bruise one of the stalks all over with the back of a knife. Cut it in half and put the halves in the bottom of a saucepan with the nam pla. Squeeze the juice of one of the limes into the pot, then throw the lime halves in there. Top with the shrimp, cover tightly, and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and firm. Remove the shrimp and chill.
• Remove the hard outer layers from the remaining lemongrass stalk and mince the tender core; you won't get much more than a teaspoon or two. Combine this with the chile, coconut milk, sugar, and saffron in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a uniform yellow. Remove the chile and chill. Cut the remaining lime into wedges.
• Taste the sauce and add a little salt if necessary. Serve the cold shrimp topped with the cold sauce and accompanied by lime wedges.
• Coconut Milk
• Although canned coconut milk is perfectly convenient, making coconut milk at home is easy and will contain no preservatives: Combine 2 cups of water and 2 cups dried unsweetened shredded or grated coconut in a blender. Use a towel to hold the lid on tightly and turn the switch on and off a few times quickly to get the mixture going. Then blend for about 30 seconds. Let rest for 10 minutes. Pour the milk through a strainer. This will be fairly thick. If you need more milk, just pour additional water through the coconut, up to another cup or two. Press the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible. Use immediately or freeze indefinitely.
• Shrimp
• Almost all shrimp are frozen before sale. So unless you're in a hurry, you might as well buy them frozen and defrost them yourself; this will guarantee you that they are defrosted just before you cook them, therefore retaining peak quality.
• There are no universal standards for shrimp size; large and medium don't mean much. Therefore, it pays to learn to judge shrimp size by the number per pound, as retailers do. Shrimp labeled 16/20, for example, contain sixteen to twenty per pound; those labeled U-20 require fewer (under) twenty to make a pound. Shrimp from fifteen to about thirty per pound usually give the best combination of flavor, ease (peeling tiny shrimp is a nuisance), and value (really big shrimp usually cost more than $15 a pound).
• On deveining: I don't. You can, if you like, but it's a thankless task, and there isn't one person in a hundred who could blind-taste the difference between shrimp that have and have not been deveined.

STEAMED SHRIMP WITH LEMON GRASS-COCONUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Trim ends from lemon grass, then bruise 3 stalks all over with back of a knife. Cut in half and place in saucepan with nam pla. Squeeze juice of 2 limes into pot, then toss in lime rinds. Top with shrimp, cover tightly, and turn heat to medium-high. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and firm. Remove shrimp and chill.
• Remove hard outer layers from remaining lemon grass stalk and mince tender core; you will get about a teaspoon. Combine this with chili, coconut milk, sugar and saffron in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is a uniform yellow. Remove chili and chill. Cut remaining lime into wedges.
• Taste sauce and add salt if necessary. Serve cold shrimp topped with cold sauce and accompanied by lime wedges.

BAMBOO PIPE STEAMED COCONUT SHRIMP

Steps:

• Soak two 8-inch-long, 4 1/2-inch-wide bamboo steamer pipes in water for 15 to 20 minutes before using to prevent them from burning over an open fire. (See Cook's Note.) If the walls of the bamboo steamer pipes are at least 1 inch thick or if you are using a gas grill, this step is optional.
• Place the shrimp in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Mix in the coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, cilantro, lemongrass and red chile flakes.
• Prepare an open fire with grill grates or prepare a gas grill for 350 degrees F.
• Fill the bamboo pipes with the shrimp mixture. Ensure the liquid fills the bamboo pipes at least three-quarters of the way up. Place the bamboo pipes directly on the grill grates over the open fire or directly on the grates of a gas grill at 350 degrees F. Remove the bamboo pipes when the shrimp are cooked through, after about 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Drain the liquid from the bamboo pipes and reserve for the guests to use for dipping or smothering. Serve the shrimp over your favorite side or steamed white rice.