[Vietnamese Recipes] Lemongrass Shrimp

I cook a shrimp dish from just about every country I’ve visited on this little culinary adventure. And I don’t see myself curtailing this trend anytime soon- some of the shrimp dishes (Goan Shrimp and Eggplant Curry, Smoky Bacon and Cheddar Shrimp and Grits, and Shrimp Saganaki to name a few) have been among my very favorites recipes!

I’ve got a couple Vietnamese shrimp recipes on the agenda, but decided to start with this lemongrass shrimp because it’s a snap to make and is perfect for grilling season. Shrimp gets a quick marinade in a fragrant, barely spicy lemongrass-based mixture before getting tossed on the grill.

And if you’re one of those folks dealing with triple digit temps, you’ll be thrilled that these only take a couple minutes to cook. If you’re sans grill, you can always throw the under the broiler like I did (sadly the grills were already reserved at my condo the day I cooked these). You won’t get the lovely char marks, but they’ll still taste great.

Tom Nuong Xa- Lemongrass Shrimp

YIELD: 4-6 as an appetizer

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 stalk lemongrass, woody ends trimmed and coarsely chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
* 1 teaspoon gluten-free soy sauce
* 1/2 teaspoons ground chili paste (Sriracha would work here)
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 2 teaspoons lime juice
* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 pound medium to large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
* finely chopped scallions or mint
* bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, the drained

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, gluten-free soy sauce, chili paste, sugar, lime juice, vegetable oil and black pepper in a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth.

Transfer marinade to a medium bowl and add the shrimp. Toss well to coat. Marinate for 15-30 minutes. Thread the shrimp onto the skewers. Set aside.

Preheat a charcoal, gas grill or your oven broiler. Grill or broil the shrimp for a couple minutes each side. Serve with rice for a meal or with nuoc cham for an appetizer.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Girlcooksworld.com. Thanks so much!