[New Recipe] My Signature Seared Lemongrass Shrimp with Chili and Banana Dip.

Earlier today I woke up in the wee hours of the morning craving shrimp. And since at that time the market wasn’t open yet (and the wee hours of the morning happen to be where I suddenly have fresh ideas in my head), I decided to create a new recipe (again) from scratch

Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 8-10 medium shrimp
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 8 Thai chili peppers
• 2 tbsp black peppercorn
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• Fish sauce (Tiparos)
• Thai light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp whiskey (optional)
• Sugar
• Finely chopped kaffir lime leaves
• Freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 1 medium banana, whole

 

The Marinade:

Using a granite mortar and pestle, pound the black peppercorns until fine and put it in a small bowl. Next, pound the finely chopped kaffir lime leaves and finely-chopped lemongrass until paste-like in consistency then add the peppercorns and turmeric and mix well. Pour about 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce and 3 tablespoons of whiskey. Mix well. Pour in a plastic bag and add the deveined shrimp (Head and tail still intact). Let it marinate for about half an hour or longer if you like.

The Chili and Banana Dipping paste:

The dipping paste is easy to make. First you need to pound your fresh Thai chili peppers then add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoons of light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Now heat the pan and add a bit of vegetable oil and once hot, add the pepper mixture and let it cook for a few minutes while stirring constantly. Once done, remove the paste from the pan and transfer into a small bowl and add 5 tablespoons of lime juice.

In a separate bowl, mash the banana and add 3 tablespoons of lime juice. Mix and set aside.

Let’s cook!

Using a wok and the same oil used to cook the chili dipping paste, sear the prawns for few minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit on a paper tower for a few minutes to drain excess oil.

Time to plate:

Arrange the prawns, chili dip and mashed banana neatly on a banana leaf and serve.

Enjoy!

Warning: You can crank the heat up but I would caution you against it because whiskey is more than 80 proof. Have a fire extinguisher ready just in case. You have been warned!