Anyway, dear reader, I’m sure that you’re not stupid and you’ll want to make this recipe and Leo’s hearty crockpot fish stew over and over again. We love this shrimp dish (from the Thai: Simple and Delicious Easy-to-Make Recipes book by Lesley Mackley) for its sweet and spicy sauce and because one out of two children at my house will eat it. You can put it over 1-2-3-4 Rice or just serve it with instant rice or bread.

Shrimp and Pineapple Curry

(about 10 minutes to prep, 10-15 minutes to cook; serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 cups coconut cream (1 can)
• ½ fresh pineapple, peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp. Thai red curry paste
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 12 oz raw tiger shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, to decorate
• steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Preparation

1. Place the coconut cream, pineapple, curry paste, fish sauce and sugar in a skillet.
2. Heat gently over a medium heat until almost boiling.
3. Add the shrimp and cilantro and simmer gently for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked.
4. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

What we actually did: we used coconut milk (and not even real coconut milk, it was from concentrate!), a can of pineapple, brown sugar and precooked shrimp. Oh yeah, we also used parsley instead of cilantro coz someone finds cilantro to be too “fuzzy” and “forgot” to buy it. But I’m not bitter.

I was surprised to find the coconut milk and the curry paste in the international aisle of Meier’s. The fish sauce I got at an Asian grocery.

Related posts:

1. Chilled Lemon Shrimp Pasta Salad
2. Rum Scampi
3. When Good Foods Go Bad – Part 2

So I failed at this recipe completely, but I think it’s worth another try. If you’d like to give it a shot, here it is:

Peanut-crusted chicken with dipping sauce

Chicken breading:

• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and finely grated
• 1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp chopped, fresh cilantro leaves
• scant 1 ⅓ cups salted peanuts
• ¾ cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 4 Tbsp milk

• 12 chicken drumsticks, skin removed

Dipping sauce:

• 1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• ½ cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

Chicken prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚
2. Place the garlic, gingerroot, lemongrass, cilantro leaves, peanuts and 2 Tbsp of the flour in a food processor; blend until finely ground; transfer to a shallow dish
3. In a bowl, beat together the eggs and milk
4. Spread the remaining flour on a plate
5. Dip the drumsticks into the flour, then the egg mixture and finally the peanut mixture; arrange them in an oiled roasting pan
6. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn and cook for another 30 minutes; pour off any excess oil and bake for another 5 minutes or until very crisp

Sauce prep:

1. Grind the chili and garlic to a paste using a mortar and pestle
2. Put the vinegar and sugar in a pan; heat gently until the sugar dissolves; bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes
3. Stir in the chili-garlic paste and transfer to a bowl
4. Drain the drumsticks on paper towels and serve with the sauce.

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Notes:

1. The amounts of garlic suggested are, of course, ridiculously scanty.
2. I don’t know what lemongrass looks like or where to find it, so I ignored that bit.
3. The cooking time and temperature may not be spot-on; the temp is reduced and the time is increased from the original (since the original resulted in chicken which was burnt on the outside and a health hazard on the inside).

Related posts:

1. When Good Foods Go Bad – Part 1
2. Friday Night Fish Fry at Ya Boy – The Way the Good Lord Intended
3. East Meets West Chicken