Grilled Hoisin Sauce/lime juice/Sambal Olek marinated shrimp

We often grill shrimp in the summer for a quick dinner. I have no single recipe, but many of my variations utilize the wonderful fresh flavors of Asia.

Here’s a marinade that people seem to enjoy:

1 TBS Hoisin Sauce

Juice of ½ of a lime

1 TSP hot pepper sauce. I like Sambal Olek or Sriracha sauce, but you can use Tabasco or Franks’s

1 TSP peanut oil

1 TSP sesame oil

1 TSP good soy sauce

Whisk it all together and marinate your cleaned and deveined shrimp for no more than a half an hour.

Thread the shrimp on skewers.

Prepare a hot fire. Cook the shrimp 3 or 4 minutes to a side.

Serve over rice or (as in this photo) lovely cold sesame noodles.

(Photo: R. L. Floyd, 2016)

Thai Shrimp with Roasted Chili Paste

I love the taste of roasted red chili paste, and this stir-fried shrimp dish is simplicity itself to make. It offers endless variations. I have made it with scallops and with littleneck clams. The version here is one of my “meals of last resort” recipes, the kind you make the day before you go shopping. The other night I scanned the larder and came up with some frozen jumbo shrimp, some frozen peas, a few white mushrooms, some sad scallions, and YES, an opened jar of roasted red chili paste. Call it dinner.

Here's the recipe, but as with all stir-fries the times are very approximate.

2 tbs. peanut or canola oil
1 tbs. chopped garlic
1 medium onion, sliced
4 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted (if you have fresh snow peas, blanch them and substitute)
2 tbs. roasted red chili paste
3/4 lb. jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbs. fish sauce (nam pla or nuac mam)
1  scallion slice or fresh chopped cilantro for garnish

Heat wok or pan for a few seconds until hot, swirl in the oil, and when it is hot enough toss in the garlic and stir-fry until it starts to brown, a few seconds, then toss in the onion and stir, then the mushrooms and stir fry for thirty seconds or so. Then stir in the chili paste and the shrimp and stir until the shrimp begins to turn pink. Add the peas and stir for a minute. Add the fish sauce and stir to incorporate.

Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with a sliced scallion or chopped fresh cilantro

Serve with jasmine rice and some Sriracha sauce on the side, which you won't really need unless you're a heat freak as this chili paste has plenty of kick.

Beverage of choice:  beer. Or an Alsatian gewurztraminer


(A note on ingredients: The chili paste, fish sauce, and Sriracha sauce, once exotic ingredients, are now available in many supermarkets. But if not yours, try an Asian market, or a fancy specialty shop. Nam pla is the Thai version of fish sauce and nuac mam is the Vietnamese version, but they are virtually indistinguishable.)


(Photo: R. L. Floyd, 2012)

My Big Fat Greek Shrimp and Tomato Saganaki with Feta

We had something similar to this in the pretty seaside town of Molyvos on the Island of Lesbos back in 2003. Martha's grandparents emigrated to America from Lesbos, and it was her first time visiting there. It's a beautiful place.

This summer Andrew and Jess came back from the Greek Islands and reported having a version of it in Santorini, though they claim mine is better, which may just be because there is more of it. This is a tourist dish with no claim to authenticity, but it is yummy. And, once you’ve cleaned the shrimp, easy and pretty foolproof.

I use frozen easy-peel shrimp that come in 2 lb bags. You will need a heavy-bottomed skillet, and an ovenproof serving dish (I use a Le Crueset enameled one, but you could do it any shallow casserole or baking dish.)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)

2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined

2 large fresh tomatoes in season, coarsely chopped (or use a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes)

1 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, rinsed and chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally until it is soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then add the red pepper flakes and tomatoes, and let it cook for another ten minutes or so until some of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes, stirring now and then, until they turn pink and begin to firm up (don't overcook them).

Turn the mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle the feta over the top, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes until everything is bubbling nicely. Salt and pepper to taste (the feta should be all the salt you need), and sprinkle with the parsley.

Although in Greece this is typically a starter, it will easily feed four people as dinner with some crusty bread and a Greek salad. In the best of all worlds your kids will bring you a white wine back from Santorini to have with it (as mine did), but any sturdy crisp white will go just fine (feta is a tough flavor match for wine.) White Retsina works if you’ve acquired a taste for it, which most people who aren’t Greek haven’t. Enjoy.

(Photos: R.L. Floyd)

(This one first appeared in Retired Pastor Ruminates on September 18, 2009)