It's been a week since I got back from Rome - sadly when I have a moment to stop I think 'did I even have a vacation?'
I know that I did when I hopped up on the scales at the gym today - OUCH! I was expecting that - eating two huge meals a day, my weight in gelato, and all of the other treats I enjoyed tends to have that effect. Because I expected this to be the situation I was careful to plan low-fat recipes for dinner this week.
Tonight's was a perfect example. I saw this recipe in the June Cooking Light magazine and thought - WOW Shrimp grilled in a tasty Thai marinade . . . what is not to love? The recipe promised to be quick and delicious - and it delivered - making it a perfect selection for a busy weeknight meal.
The fine folks at Cooking Light state that you can substitute 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind for the lemongrass in a pinch. They are wrong. If you can't find lemon grass you should select a different recipe - saying that lemon rind is a substitute for lemongrass is like saying silk is a substitute for flannel.
I followed the recipe as printed but added some Ginger (about 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger) to the marinade.
While grilling watch the shrimp carefully - the sugar in the marinade causes them to blacken quickly as the sugars caramelize.
Lemongrass and Garlic Shrimp
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 fresh lemongrass stalk, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove, grated
36 jumbo Tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 2 pounds)Combine 1/4 cup sugar, canola oil, fish sauce, chopped lemongrass, and grated garlic in a food processor or mini chopper; process until the lemongrass is finely chopped. Transfer sugar mixture to a large zip-top plastic bag. Add shrimp; seal and marinate in refrigerator 45 minutes.
Prepare grill to high heat.
Remove shrimp from bag; discard marinade. Thread 6 shrimp onto each of 6 (12-inch) skewers. Place skewers on grill rack; grill 2 minutes on each side or until done.
This looks great, nice tip on the sugar/shrimp deal, I might have thought of that, and I might not have. I have never been able to find lemongrass here, so I am always wondering about it. Good to know that lemon/lemon peel is not a very good sub for it. I will keep looking.
Posted by: Kayte | June 22, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Kayte - I generally cheat and buy the stuff in tubes (near the fresh herbs) that is already choipped and processed.
Posted by: JDeQ | June 26, 2010 at 10:24 AM