[CH] Cajun Shrimp (Was "a recipe and Calvin's powder")
John Benz Fentner, Jr. (jbenz@courant.infi.net)
Sun, 22 Feb 1998 12:32:48 -0500
Bill Williams wrote:
> For years my favorite recipe has been a dish called Cajun Shrimp, which
> I'm about to pass along. But first let me say that what everybody likes
> about it is the dipping sauce that the shrimp swim in and that you soak
> up with french bread.
>
> So here's the real reason for this message - since I live in a small
> town, and not near either coast, decent shrimp is hard to come by.. so I
> thought I'd just make the sauce, without shrimp.. quick, easy and
> wonderful!!!
Made this Saturday nite for a group of mixed ChileHeads and straight
people...with a few minor mods:
> 1/2 cup olive oil
> 6 garlic cloves, chopped
(Pooh...needs at least 8)
> 4 green onions, chopped - or you can use one regular onion diced
(Greens work fine and add a nice touch of color)
> 12 dried hot red chiles
(6 Arbols, 2 Habs and about a Tablespoon of little bitty African Devils)
> 14 drops hot pepper sauce
(Used Arizona Gunslinger...didn't have none of that Looziana stuff. YKYACHI
you have 40 bottles of sauce opened and not a Tabasco, Frank's or Durkee's
in the joint)
> 2 1/2 pounds med. shrimp, peeled, tails left on
(Yer right...it is ridiculously expensive)
> 1/2 cup soy sauce
(Used the new Spicy Tabasco brand)
> french bread
(Served it with a mild curried rice instead..cut the heat a little for the
straight people...them African Devils are sneaky little beggars)
> heat oil over med-high heat in a large skillet
> add garlic and saute a bit
> add onion - if using regular onion let it saute a while too
> add chiles and hot pepper sauce and simmer for three minutes
> add soy sauce and shrimp and simmer 2-4 minutes till shrimp are done
> Serve in bowls with bread for dipping
>
> Notice that when I assembled the ingredients I left out the shrimp.
> That's because, the last time I made it I just made the sauce for
> dipping. If you actually have shrimp, you add it when you add the soy
> sauce.. if you're not gonna use shrimp, you might add a few drops of
> fish sauce instead, but beware of saltiness - the combo of soy sauce and
> fish sauce can make a salty broth.
I added a few drops of fish sauce anyway. Fairly serious heat...significant
brow sweating and woofing even from the annointed Chileheads...might wanna
leave out a chile or two for a PG rating.
I did this in conjunction with a hot oil fondue (or Monglian Barbecue as my
well traveled in-laws call it). Electric wok with about 3 " of oil in the
middle of the table with chunks of beef, chicken, bay scallops, shrimp,
mushrooms, broccoli, red & green bells, onion etc., tempura and beer
batters, bamboo skewers and lots of sauces.
Sauces: Jim Cambell's Firey Habanero was a hit with mushrooms in beer
batter. ("Yikes...what is this stuff?" says one straight person.) Bufalo
Chipotle for the beef chunks. Sweet/Hot (2 parts store bought Duck Sauce, 1
part Marie Sharp's) for the battered veggies and chicken chunks. Heat
impaired participants were equally split on Tiger sauce and Pickapeppa
sauce.
Did some shrimp and scallops skewered together and spooned some of the Cajun
Shrimp sauce over those...very nice combo.
Topped it all off with Iced Coronas (one of the CHs is a beer distributor, a
combination of mystic proportions). A fine, if somewhat oily and sloppy,
time was had by all. Biological consequences this AM about as you would
expect. :)
JB
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John Benz Fentner, Jr.
Unionville, Connecticut, USA
http://www.geocities.com/~jbenz/
"Lex Non Favet Delicatorum Votis"
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