Quick Tip: Peeling & Deveining a Shrimp

Shrimp Spring Rolls

The measurements for this recipe are estimates so feel free to play around with it. If you want to make this a vegetarian dish, simply omit the shrimp. Makes 12-15 rolls.

Ingredients:
· 3 oz Vermicelli Noodles
· 2 Tb Oil (Vegetable, Peanut or Canola)
· 1/3 lb Shrimp- peeled &deveined
· 2 inch Ginger Root- finely chopped
· 3 cloves Garlic- finely chopped
· 2 Scallions- chopped
· 2 Carrots- shredded
· 2 Bean Sprouts
· 5 oz Spinach
· Small bunch Cilantro
· Spring Roll Wrappers
· 2 Tb Soy Sauce
· 1 Egg
· Oil, for frying

Preparing Ingredients:
Soak the vermicelli noodles according to the directions on the package and once complete, cut them into smaller pieces. Finely chop the ginger, slice the scallions, shred the carrots and coarsely chop the spinach, cilantro and shrimp. I recommend having all of the ingredients ready before you heat up your wok because everything will cook very quickly.

Cooking the Mixture:
In a hot wok, add oil, ginger, garlic, and scallions. Let this cook until the flavors release. Next, add carrots, bean sprouts, spinach, cilantro, soy sauce and noodles. Mix this together well so that your get an even bite of all the in the filling. Let this cook for a few minutes and once its finished, set the mixture aside and let it cool. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside.

Wrapping the Spring Rolls:
Peel the wrappers apart and cover with a damp towel to keep them from drying. Lay one of the shells in front of you with one corner towards you (like the shape of a diamond) and the other corners facing your right, left, and up.

Once the mixture is cooled, add a spoonful of the filling to the bottom-center of the spring roll wrapper. (If the mixture is not cooled properly, it could burn through your wrapper). Roll the mixture in the wrapper tightly but be careful not to rip the wrapper. Once halfway up, fold each of the two sides to the center and continue rolling up. When you get about one inch from the top of the wrapper, rub a bit of the egg wash on the wrapper to seal the spring roll.

Cookin’ It up:
Heat your frying device (deep fryer, wok with a few inches of oil, etc). Once all of the spring rolls are assembled and your oil is hot, slowly place the spring rolls in the oil and cook until golden brown. Degrease the spring rolls by placing them on paper towel. Serve plain or with a dipping sauce. I like to use a sweet chili sauce.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp in a Spicy Papaya Salad

I was experimenting in the kitchen the other day and came up with winner- Bacon Wrapped Shrimp in a Spicy Papaya Salad. The sweetness of the papaya is balanced out by the spicy chili peppers and the savory bacon wrapped shrimp ties everything together. This dish offers a variety of flavors as well as textures. Hope you enjoy!

(Serves 2, or 1 if you're like me)

Ingredients:
· ½ lb Medium Shrimp (about 14-20 pieces)
· 7-10 Strips of Bacon (half as many as you have shrimp)
· 1 Ripe Papaya
· 1 Serrano Pepper
· 1 ½ Limes
· 2 Carrots
· 4 oz of Baby Spinach
· 1 tsp Cumin
· Salt-n-Pepa for seasoning
· Toothpicks

Directions:
Papaya Salsa:
Peel and seed the papaya & dice it into small cubes. Very very thinly dice the Serrano peppers into small pieces and add to the papaya. Add lime juice and zest, cumin & Salt-n-Pepa to the papaya mixture.

Tip: Cutting, peeling & dicing papaya

Use a regular vegetable peeler to peel the skin of the papaya. Cut the entire thing in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Slice the papaya lengthwise into long strips and then widthwise to create dices.

The Serrano peppers should be diced very small (you don’t want to bite into a big chunk of one of those)

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp:
Peel and devein the shrimp & season them with ½ the cumin & Salt-n-Pepa.
Cut the bacon strips in half and cook them partway in a skillet. Drain the excess fat from the pan and degrease the bacon on paper towels. Take the bacon and wrap each strip around the shrimp, securing the whole thing with a toothpick.

(Since the bacon takes longer to cook than the shrimp, the idea here is to cook the bacon partway before wrapping it. This way, when the bacon cooks with the shrimp later, both the bacon and shrimp finish cooking at the same time and the shrimp doesn’t overcook).

Once all the shrimps are wrapped, place them back in the skillet and cover with a lid. Turn the shrimp midway through the cooking and turn off the heat once finished cooking.

Assembling the Salad:
Shred the carrots and toss in a bowl with the clean spinach. Mix in the papaya salsa & top with the bacon wrapped shrimp (be sure to remove the toothpicks before serving). This salad can be served either plain or with a vinaigrette dressing.