Coconut Shrimp with Cilantro Coconut Rice and Fiery Mango Sauce

Mmmmm....this dinner was way good. And, since I got the recipe out of Cooking Light Magazine, I feel justified in eating it because it must be healthy right? (Actually it's not as bad for you as I thought it might be, thanks to a few good Cooking Light tips and tricks) Anyway, this dinner comes together pretty fast except for the rice which requires a lot of chopping. I would make this again anytime as it's fairly cheap (esp. if you get frozen shrimp), warm, flavorful and very satisfying! Enjoy!

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (12-ounce) can mango nectar
• 1/4 Scotch bonnet pepper, unseeded
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Shrimp:

• 28 jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. To prepare sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add nectar and pepper; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Place mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in juice and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cool.

2. Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails intact; discard shells.

3. Place coconut in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until finely chopped. Add panko; pulse to combine. Place coconut mixture in a shallow dish. Place cornstarch in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Sprinkle shrimp evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working with 1 shrimp at a time, dredge shrimp in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Dip in egg whites; dredge in coconut mixture.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 7 shrimp to pan; coat tops of shrimp with cooking spray. Cook shrimp 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure 3 times with remaining oil and shrimp.

*Notes: You definitely need the Cooking Spray for this recipe, otherwise the coating falls off and you have to use way more oil, negating the healthy factor. Also, we substituted one habanero pepper for the scotch bonnet, and it was very spicy (in a good way) and flavorful. I'm sure the scotch bonnet would be good, I just couldn't find one.

Cilantro Coconut Rice
My mom introduced me to this recipe, and the original can be found here. We've modified it a bit based on others' reviews and our own taste preferences. Be warned: this makes a TON of rice, so invite someone over for dinner or plan a few menus that use it.

• 3 cups basmati rice (20 ounces)
• 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh jalapeño including seeds (from 1 chile)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed fresh cilantro sprigs
• 4 scallions, chopped (1 cup)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Wash rice in several changes of cold water in a bowl until water is almost clear. Soak rice in cold water 30 minutes, then drain well in a sieve.

Spread coconut in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Cook ginger and jalapeño in 1 tablespoon oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until chile is softened, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in water and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, covered. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

While rice cooks, pulse together coconut, cilantro, scallions, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely chopped.

Add cilantro mixture to cooked rice and stir gently until combined well.

Disclaimers: You'll notice from the picture that our rice is green. Boo. It's because we used the food processor. Ideally, I prefer to chop all the cilantro etc. by hand because that way it doesn't turn your rice green, and instead the rice looks really beautiful because of the contrast between the bright white rice and the green leaves. Still, if you're short on time, the food processor won't affect taste. We also prefer to use about 2 cups (1 can) of coconut milk and only 2 cups of water to cook the rice in. It's more calories, but also more delicious. You decide. As a last note, watch the coconut very carefully while it toasts. (Toaster ovens are ideal for this step because you can see the coconut the whole time.) It browns very quickly; one time Dean and I had to throw away 3 batches of coconut before we got it right because we kept forgetting about it and letting it burn!

Baked Pie Crust

This recipe is easy and delicious. You'll never buy a pre-made pie crust again once you try this one. It's my mom's recipe and I'm proud to say, it rocks.

9" One Crust Pie
1 c. flour
1/3 c plus 1 tbsp. Parkay soft margarine*
½ tsp. salt
2 – 3 tbsp cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in margarine with fork until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add cold water 1 tbsp. at a time until mixture clings together. Roll out pastry on wax paper and fit into pie tin. Prick bottom and sides with fork. Bake at 475 for 8 – 10 minutes. Let cool before adding filling.

*(I admit, contrary to my mother's advice I have used generic brands here and the results seem to be okay so far.)

The Happiest Pie in the World

Is there anything happier than lemon meringue pie? The fresh lemony smell, the warm, smooth texture and the sunniest color in the world make it hard to not eat the filling before you top the pie and bake it! I'd never made lemon meringue pie before, and I'll admit I was a little worried about the prospect. It seemed daunting somehow. Turns out I was totally wrong. It was straightforward and FUN to make. (And eat.) My only advice? Don't overbeat the egg whites like I did, so that you'll end up with a beautiful, curlicue top instead of a fluffy mess. Oh and take note that you only need 4 eggs total. So save the egg whites when you crack the eggs the 1st time around. I accidentally used 8. Oops! Oh well, time for you to try it on your own now- remember the picture doesn't do it justice. Enjoy!

Mama Joopsie's Lemon Meringue Pie

1 ½ c. sugar

1 ½ c.water

½ tsp salt

½ c. cornstarch

1/3 c water

Combine sugar, 1 ½ c water, and salt in saucepan; heat to boiling. Mix cornstarch and 1/3 c water to make smooth paste; add to boiling mixture gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until think and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

½ c lemon juice

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Combine egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir into above thickened mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles again. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon peel. Cool until lukewarm.

4 egg whites

¼ tsp salt

½ c sugar

Add salt to egg whites; beat until frothy in mixer at high speed. Gradually add ½ c sugar, beating until glossy stiff peaks are formed. Stir 2 rounded tbsp of meringue into lukewarm filling.

Pour filling into cool pie shell. Pile meringue on top and spread lightly over filling, spreading evenly to edge of crust.

Bake at 325 about 15 minutes , or until lightly browned. Cool at least 1 hour before cutting.

An update:
I recently made this pie again and it turned out much more beautifully than the last time:

Cucumber Sunomono

Courtesy of Dean's Mom and Obaasan Watanabe

This makes enough for 2 people, but it can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. If you're really a pro you don't measure anything, you just taste it. Don't worry- I'm not there yet either!

2 cucumbers, peeled (if you want/care) halved, cored and sliced.
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar (I use apple cider but Obaasan insists that all vinegar is the same)
salt

Prepare cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt (not too much here people). Leave alone for about 15 minutes. Combine sugar and vinegar until completely mixed. Drain cucumbers and squeeze out water. Combine with vinegar mixture and serve.

Okay so that's the official recipe, but the gaijin girl is here to tell you that I've completely skipped the salt step (and the draining cucumbers etc.) and I've also added the vinegar and sugar directly to the cukes without mixing first and there have been little to no discernible differences- so for a weeknight dinner, save yourself the time and throw it all together. Just don't tell Obaasan or Julie I said so.

Thai Chicken Satay

So, we've been trying a lot of new recipes around here lately. Many of them have been "quick" week-night type recipes (or at least they've been advertised as such) but we've had mixed results. No dinners that were gross, but only a few that were truly memorable. I don't know about you, but no matter how easy or quick it is, I don't like eating meals that are just "okay." (So I'm a bit of a food elitist- is that such a crime?) Why put any effort in for only mediocre results? Luckily for all of the non-existent people who read this blog, I've sorted out the weak recipes from the culinary gems! And this one here is a gem my friends. It meets on all counts. It's relatively quick (okay the chopping does take some time, but that can easily be done the night before) and exceptionally yummy. This meal can be used during the week, but is fun/impressive enough to use when company comes for dinner-something I feel makes this recipe unique. Not too many dishes can fit both bills but this one does and does so without disappointing. But enough intro- try it for yourself and see what you think!

This recipe came from Williams Sonoma's Food Made Fast series, in the Weeknight cookbook. You can buy this cookbook here if you're interested. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients
2 large limes
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced ginger (fresh is best)
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or tenderloins

Directions

Marinate the Chicken
1) Soak bamboo skewers in cold water until ready to use.
2) Grate 1 teaspoon zest from lines and squeeze 1/4 cup juice. Whisk together lime zest and juice, vinegar, and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in the cilantro, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture to use as dipping sauce. Use the rest to marinate the chicken.
3) Marinate the chicken for 10 minutes at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to two hours. (I bet you could actually marinate it overnight to save time)

Cook the Chicken
4) Preheat the broiler. (You could grill this too, we just happened to broil ours)
5) Remove chicken from marinade and skewer the chicken
6) Brush the chicken with extra marinade before putting in the oven, then discard marinade
7) Place skewers on cookie sheet and place under the broiler
8) Cook, turning once until seared on the outside and opaque throughout. The recipe says this took 6 minutes, but it took us more like 12....my only guess is because our rack was very low in the oven. Just watch the chicken and cook it until done but not rubbery.
9) Serve with Jasmine Rice and Cucumber Sunomono