Lemony Garlic and Herb Shrimp recipe

I've been extremely busy this month, and on top of that I ended up with sunburn! When all the events for September were over and done with, we drove down to downtown Chicago to have a family day. We parked at Navy Pier, walked all the way to Skydeck, and walked back to Navy Pier for sightseeing before heading back home. It was a really nice day, so nice that you need some sunscreen if you're gonna be out in the sun for a long time! I already knew I have sensitivity to sunscreen; I get rashes wherever it was applied! But it was either deal with rashes for a couple of weeks or skin cancer! So I let out a huge sigh and sprayed sunscreen on my arms but some of the mist got on the right side of my neck and a little on my forehead. Sure enough, the next day, wherever sunscreen touched my skin became red and started to itch just a bit. Just fantastic, we still had an event to go to that night! The following day, it was full on rashes with itch to torture my poor self! And I still got a little bit of sunburn on my left shoulder! Anyways, I'm just ranting. I'm glad I'm better now. Now let's cook us some shrimp!

Printable Recipe

Lemony Garlic and Herb Shrimp

ingredients:
• 1½ lbs large shrimp, peeled & deveined (16-20 or 21-30 ct/lb)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp ground white paper
• 1 stick unsalted butter, divided use & half of it cubed
• 1 shallot, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper
• ¼ cup white wine (chardonnay: medium-dry to dry)
• 1 lemon, zest & juiced (¼ cup)
• 2 tbsp chives, chopped
• 1 tbsp Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• ½ tsp thyme leaves
• freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese for serving

instructions:
1)  Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add shrimp and season with salt and white pepper. Toss shrimp around just until they start to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.
2)  In the same pan still over medium heat, add half stick of butter, shallot, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook until the butter is completely melted, about 3 minutes. Stir often to prevent garlic from burning.
3)  Pour in white wine, let bubble up for 30 seconds, then add lemon juice and zest. Let the sauce reduce until it thickens slightly, about 4-5 minutes.
4)  Turn the heat down to low. Add the shrimp back into the pan along with any juices accumulated on the plate, chives, parsley, thyme, and cubed butter. Toss everything around until the butter is melted, about 1 minute.
5)  Serve with grated Pecorino Romano, if desired. Serve as an appetizer, or main entree with rice or pasta.
    

Grilled Espresso Steak recipe

I realize I don't post a lot of steak recipes, and there's a reason for that. I love steaks that are simply seasoned with salt and pepper, then finished with a pat of butter (or drown it in flavored butter!). I love it grilled, pan-grilled, pan-seared, charbroiled! Even better if the steaks are grass-fed, aged, and served with Kerrygold butter because it makes me feel like I'm eating healthy! So if I post every steak recipe I make, it would go something like this: "Drizzle steaks with oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook to desired doneness. Serve with a pat of butter on top." It would be very generic and look like everyone else's steak recipe.

Almost everyone has salt and pepper in their spice collection, but what if you want to use up some of your other spices (and instant espresso!)? Well, here we're gonna use the steaks as our canvas. Instead of just painting (or seasoning) our steaks with black and white (I mean salt and pepper), we will get fancy and splash a little more color! Don't worry, your steaks won't look like the rainbow.

These pan-grilled steaks come out medium-rare for 1¼-inch thick, and close to medium for 1-inch thick. Of course you can cook yours to your liking!

By the way, as I'm typing this, I'm munching on strawberries drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. My gaaaah!

Printable Recipe

Grilled Espresso Steak

ingredients:
• 2 (1 lb each, 1 to 1¼ inch thick) steaks of your choice, bone-in (NY strip, ribeye, t-bone/porterhouse)
• 1½ tsp instant espresso
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp brown sugar
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground Jamaican allspice
• grapeseed oil for drizzling (or any neutral, high smoke point oil such as canola)
• sea salt for sprinkling

instructions:
1)  Mix all the spices (except oil and sea salt) in a bowl. Generously season the steaks with the spice rub, making sure that you season all sides. Lightly drizzle steaks with oil.
2)  Place a grill pan over high heat. At the first sight of smoke, add steaks to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes each side. Then, turn the steaks on their fat side and cook for 1 minute.
3)  Transfer steaks to a plate and sprinkle with sea salt. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
    

Chicken and Shrimp Wonton with Simple Ponzu recipe

One of my favorite appetizers in a sushi restaurant is gyoza. Not just any gyoza though, it has to be pan-fried then steamed, and the dipping sauce has to make me wanna drink it when no one's watching! But sorry to disappoint you here, because this isn't a gyoza recipe; I am still working on that recipe :D

Wonton soups and deep-fried wontons are very popular, but I really love pan-fried gyozas so I decided that my wontons will also be pan-fried. For the dipping sauce, store-bought ponzu or Thai sweet chili sauce would be more convenient rather than a homemade one. My ponzu recipe is simple in the way that there is no simmering involved.

Having a party tomorrow or in the next few days? You can make these wontons ahead of time and freeze it. Just cook it when you're ready, and voila!

Printable Recipe

Chicken and Shrimp Wonton with Simple Ponzu

Chicken and Shrimp Wonton
ingredients:
• 1 lb ground chicken, preferably dark meat
• ½ lb shrimp, peeled & deveined, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp honey, preferably raw
• ¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp Sambal Oelek
other ingredients:
• 1 (12 oz) pack Nasoya won ton wraps
• all-purpose flour for dusting
• water for sealing and steaming
• sheet pan
• 10-inch to 12-inch nonstick pan with a lid
• grapeseed oil for frying (or any neutral, high smoke point oil such as canola)

instructions:
1)  Put all the ingredients (except 'other ingredients') in a bowl. Using your hands, mix the filling just enough to combine.
2)  Dust a sheet pan with flour. Place a wrapper flat on your palm so that it makes a diamond shape. Using a small cookie scoop (2 tsp), add 1 scoop of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Using your fingertip, dip it in water and wet the edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper to make a triangle shape, pinch the edges to ensure a good seal while pressing air out of the interior. Place the made wonton on the sheet pan. Repeat wrapping process until all the filling is gone.
3)  To cook: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a 10-inch or 12-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Quickly but carefully add 10 (for 10-inch pan) or 12 (for 12-inch pan) wontons in the pan, making sure they have space in between. Fry for 2 minutes. With a lid on standby, pour in 1/3 cup water and quickly put the lid on. Steam for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 30 seconds to develop a crust on the bottom of the wontons. Transfer cooked wontons to a plate.
◘ tip: For every batch you cook, wipe off the pan with paper towels (be careful, it's hot!), add fresh oil, then repeat cooking process.
4)  To freeze: After wrapping all the filling, transfer the sheet pan to the freezer for 1 hour. Once wontons are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to use, these wontons go straight from freezer to frying. No need to thaw.
5)  Serve with simple ponzu (recipe follows).

Simple Ponzu
ingredients:
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
• ¹⁄8 tsp kosher salt
• ¹⁄8 tsp sugar
• ¹⁄8 tsp fish sauce (Dynasty)
• 1 scallion, finely chopped

instructions:
1)  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Serve with wontons.

◘ note: There are different shapes to make wontons. The easiest one to make is triangle. Wontons are often boiled and served in soup, deep-fried, or pan-fried (like this recipe). Most common filling is ground pork and shrimp.