by Grace Young
Chinese Trinidadian Stir-Fried Shrimp with Rum
Interesting ingredients to say the least. The sauce is made up from ketchup, rum, and soy sauce. As I was whisking this mixture together I was thinking this would make a good barbecue sauce for chicken or fish. That is until I tasted it. Strange flavor. It smelled really good as it was sizzling away in the pan and while the finished stir-fry was sitting on the counter.
The end result did not excite me like the Chinese Burmese Chili Chicken we made a couple of weeks ago. This of course could be that I had to substitute fresh minced ginger for dry ground ginger. Imagine the horror when I went to the freezer to find I had none! I always have ginger in the freezer. I so do not remember using it all. And in the end I forgot to add the cilantro. I had put the finely chopped cilantro in a measuring spoon instead of a small finger bowl like I normally do (they were all in the freezer holding egg whites) and did not see it sitting aside as things quickly progressed as does when stir-frying.
When it comes to cooking shrimp there are some who peel the shells off and some who leave them on. I chose to leave them on as instructed in the recipe. Leaving the shells on help keep the shrimp moist and juicy. Some say it imparts more flavor to the shrimp. I have cooked shrimp both ways and really have not noticed much of a difference.
Personally I would have preferred to have the shrimp shelled for this recipe. It was a bit on the messy side peeling the shrimp at the table when they were covered in sauce and the need to clean your hands each time you wanted to pick up your fork (or chopsticks) to eat the rest of the meal.
They say you can't win them all and that's OK. I'm looking forward to our next recipe of Stir-Fried Sugar Snap Peas with Shiitake Mushrooms. Look for the post in two weeks.
Success meter (1-3): 2
There were very few veins that
needed removing.
I'm not a fan of green bell pepper so I substituted red
bell pepper and added zucchini for a splash of color.
You can find this recipe at Robin's blog The Big Red Kitchen, our host for the week and check out the LYL post over at Wok Wednesdays for results from the rest of the group.
