Pre- Tsunami Meal. Orange Shrimp

Well, it's been a while.  So long in fact that I'm not single anymore.  That's ok.  Part of starting this blog was to record my random meals and projects and luckily I found someone who A) will eat my random suppers and B) is pretty good at throwing together a random meal himself.

I am trying to experiment with a bit more spice and some Asian flavors.  Another focus is on vegetarian and gluten free cooking since my boyfriend is on board with that.

Last weekend we had a tsunami warning.  Apparently this is something I need to get used to.  Right as we were finishing up our delicious meal the sirens went off.  Good timing.

I used a recipe for Spicy Orange Shrimp from Cooking Light magazine.  I only made a few adjustments.

  

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp (I used frozen and counted out 6 per person)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (I used the juice and segments from one orange)

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (Tamari for gluten free)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (I used coconut vinegar)

1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek) (Sriracha)

2 tablespoons canola oil (Coconut Oil)

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, minced (Didn't have the second time around)

1/3 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

Defrost shrimp if frozen and dry with a kitchen towel.  Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.

Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

I served this once with white basmati rice and another time over mung bean threads that we cooked in a little bit of vegetable bouillon.  We also quickly steamed some bok choy, green peppers and carrot threads with garlic and soy sauce to serve on the side and had browned some sliced Japanese eggplant with coconut oil.  Everything was finished off with some toasted sesame seeds.  You can really experiment with these veggies.  We have been getting a CSA box from Hawaiian Chef so this is what we needed to use up.  

Overall this was quick, inexpensive and felt like a fancy dinner.  I'm adding to my go-to's although the mung bean threads can be a bit gelatinous so not great for date night.