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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Thai Shrimp & Asparagus



I made this for dinner the other night. It was so yummy & easy to make I just had to share it. My grandmother routinely shares her Good Housekeeping & Ladies Home Journal magazines with me. Thanks Grandma! (She's internet-savy.) And normally I ignore the recipes, they never look good or look too weird. But this one spoke to me. Shrimp. Asparagus. Coconut Milk. Brown Rice. Yum. How could it go wrong?

Ingredients
1 lb shelled and deveined shrimp
4 teaspoons green curry paste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 lb asparagus, cut in 2-in pieces
2 limes
1 (13.5-14 ounce) can light coconut milk
2 tablespoons reduced sodium fish sauce
2 (8 7/8 ounce) packages precooked whole-grain brown rice

Directions
1.In medium bowl, toss shrimp with curry paste to coat. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add shrimp; cook 3 minutes or just until pink, stirring. Transfer to large bowl.
2. To same skillet, add asparagus and 3 tablespoons water; cook 4 minutes or until asparagus is tender-crisp and water evaporates, stirring often. From 1 lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel; cut remaining lime into 4 wedges.
3. Add asparagus to shrimp in bowl. To skillet, add coconut milk and lime peel; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
4. Return shrimp mixture to skillet. Stir in fish sauce; heat through. Heat rice in microwave as label directs; serve with shrimp and lime wedges.


Ok, so here is where I deviated from the directions.

I used Costco's frozen asparagus and it tasted fine. I think I will try fresh asparagus to see how it differs.

I used regular fish sauce and it was fine. I just reduced the amount to somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 tablespoons.

I added about 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

I only used 1 lime. Who cares about presentation? Not me, I'm too cheap.

We added fresh cilantro as garnish. Yum.

It is very important to use light coconut milk! I messed up another recipe before by using regular coconut milk. Yuk. I use Trader Joe's light coconut milk because I know I can count on the consistency of the coconut milk.

I also used Trader Joe's Frozen Brown Rice. I keep a box in the freezer for when I need to make a quick meal.

Enjoy!