“The sugarcane is a lot easier to wrap the shrimp around, and the fish sauce is high in umami and adds some depth. And it’s a fun, different handle option.”
INGREDIENTS
2 ripe mangos
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp. sambal*
2 lbs. small raw shrimp, deveined, tails removed
1 Tbsp. sriracha hot sauce*
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 egg white
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped, plus sprigs for serving
1 pkg. fresh sugarcane skewers*
Salad oil for searing
PREPARATION
• Peel and cut mangos from the pit and coarsely chop.
• Combine the sugar, water and mangos in a pot and cook at low heat until the mango becomes opaque.
• Purée in a blender and strain through a fine mesh strainer.
• Stir the lime juice and sambal into strained mango mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Chop half of the shrimp into small pieces.
• Process the other half of the shrimp in a food processor with the sriracha, fish sauce and egg white.
• Combine chopped shrimp and shrimp mixture in a bowl. Add cilantro and mix by hand.
• Cut the sugarcane skewers in half. Use a knife to carve a spear on the end of each stick. Form shrimp tightly into a lollipop shape around the speared end of the stick and lay out on an oiled tray.
• Sear the shrimp kabobs in a large skillet with salad oil at medium heat until browned on each side. Finish in the oven for 5 minutes.
• To serve as an appetizer, arrange kabobs on a serving platter and garnish with cilantro sprigs. Drizzle the spicy mango sauce over kabobs or use sauce for dipping. To serve as an entrée, place 2 to 3 skewers over a bed of sushi rice, steamed rice or basmati rice with a side of steamed broccoli or bok choy.
*Sambal, sriracha and sugarcane skewers are available at Asian food stores.
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2008.