Sizzling Crepes With Grilled Shrimp Food

GINGER AND LEMONGRASS GRILLED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to high.
• In a large, nonreactive bowl, combine the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, scallion greens, soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey and whisk well. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Skewer the shrimp, scallion whites, and red bell peppers onto skewers in whatever order you like. There should be 4 to 6 shrimp per skewer.
• Place the skewers on a flat plate and drizzle with peanut oil. It is not necessary to salt the skewers because soy sauce has so much salt in it. Place the shrimp skewers on the grill and cook about 3 minutes per side, or just until the shrimp curls, turns red and does not appear clear at all. Be careful not to overcook.
• Place the whole radicchio leaves around the edge of a platter. Mound the chiffonade radicchio and watercress inside the leaves and around the platter. Remove the skewers from the grill and place on the bed of greens. Squeeze the juice of a lime over the shrimp.

SIZZLING SAIGON CREPES

Steps:

• Make the batter: place the rice flour, coconut milk, water, turmeric, sugar, salt, curry powder and scallions in a bowl and stir well to blend. Set aside.
• Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1/4 each of the onion, the pork and the shrimp and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Whisk the batter well, and ladle about 2/3 cup into the pan. Swirl so the batter completely covers the surface. Neatly pile about 1 cup bean sprouts and 1/2 cup mushrooms on one side of the crepe, closer to the center than to the edge. Reduce the heat slightly, cover the pan and cook until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Uncover and cook until the crepe is crisp and the pork and shrimp are done, another 2 to 3 minutes. Slip a spatula under the crepe to check on the bottom of the crepe. If it?s not brown, cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Lift the side of the crepe without the bean sprouts and mushrooms and fold it over the covered side of the crepe. Using a spatula, gently slide the crepe onto a large plate. Wipe the pan clean and make the remaining crepes in the same way. Be sure to oil the pan before beginning the next crepe.
• To serve, place the crepes, Vietnamese Dipping Sauce and some lettuces, mustard leaves, and herbs on the table. To eat, tear a piece of the banh xeo and wrap the lettuce or mustard leaves and herbs. Roll into a packet, then dip into the sauce and eat.
• Cut the chiles into thin rings. Remove one-third of the chiles and set aside for garnish. Place the remaining chiles, garlic, and sugar into a mortar and pound into a coarse, wet paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add the water, lime juice, and fish sauce. Stir well to dissolve. Add the reserved chiles and carrots. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.

SIZZLING SHRIMP SANTORINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until nearly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the Greek Seasoning, oregano and tomatoes, and season with sea salt. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and shrimp.
• Transfer the shrimp mixture to a small baking dish. Top with the feta. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through, about 25 minutes. Add more Greek Seasoning and sea salt if desired. Garnish with the olives. Serve hot, with the crusty bread for dipping.
• Combine the oregano, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, pepper and sea salt.

SIZZLING SAIGON CREPES

Steps:

• Make the batter: Place the rice flour, coconut milk, water, turmeric, sugar, salt, curry powder and scallions in a bowl and stir well to blend. Set aside.
• Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1/4 each of the onion, pork, and shrimp, and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Whisk the batter well, and ladle about 2/3 cup into the pan. Swirl so the batter completely covers the surface. Neatly pile about 1 cup bean sprouts and 1/2 cup mushrooms on 1 side of the crepe, closer to the center than to the edge. Reduce the heat slightly, cover the pan and cook until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Uncover and cook until the crepe is crisp and the chicken and shrimp are done, another 2 to 3 minutes. Slip a spatula under the crepe to check on the bottom of the crepe. If it?s not brown, cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Lift the side of the crepe without bean sprouts and mushrooms and fold it over the covered side of the crepe. Using a spatula, gently slide the crepe onto a large plate. Wipe the pan clean and make the remaining crepes in the same way. Be sure to oil the pan before beginning the next crepe.
• To serve, place the crepes, Vietnamese Dipping Sauce and Table Salad on the table. To eat, tear a piece of the banh xeo and wrap the lettuce or mustard leaves and herbs. Roll into a packet, then dip into the sauce and eat.
• Cut the chiles into thin rings. Remove one-third of the chiles and set aside for garnish. Place the remaining chiles, garlic, and sugar into a mortar and pound into a coarse, wet paste. (If you don?t have a mortar, just chop with a knife.) Transfer to small bowl and add the water, lime juice, and fish sauce. Stir well to dissolve. Add the reserved chiles and carrots. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.;
• Arrange the greens in an attractive manner on one side of a large platter. Place the cucumber, bean sprouts and herbs on the other side. Place the platter in the center of the table and serve.;

SHRIMP CREPES

Steps:

• Spray a 9x12-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Beat 1 1/2 cups milk and eggs together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 1/4 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt to milk mixture; beat until incorporated, about 2 more minutes.
• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter into the skillet and immediately rotate the skillet until the batter evenly coats the bottom in a thin layer. Cook until the top of the crepe is no longer wet and the bottom has turned light brown, about 4 minutes. Run a spatula around the edge of the skillet to loosen; flip crepe and cook until the other side has turned light brown, about 2 more minutes.
• Whisk water, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
• Place butter and garlic in a non-stick skillet over low heat. Cover skillet and cook until garlic is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add shrimp and lobster meat; stir, cover skillet, and cook until shrimp are bright pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and cayenne pepper; stir, cover skillet, and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Whisk water-flour mixture and stir into shrimp mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over shrimp mixture; cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and spoon shrimp filling onto each crepe. Roll each crepe around filling and place in the prepared baking dish.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine 1 cup milk, mayonnaise, and 1 tablespoon flour in a small saucepan; cook and stir over medium heat until bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle sauce over filled crepes.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crepes are cooked through and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.

SIZZLING CREPES

Steps:

• To make the batter, put the raw rice in a bowl and add water to cover by 1 inch. Let soak for 3 to 4 hours.
• Drain the rice and transfer to a blender. Add the cooked rice, mung bean, salt, turmeric, coconut milk, and water. Blend for about 3 minutes, or until very smooth and lemony yellow. Pour the batter through a fine-mesh sieve positioned over a bowl and discard the solids. Stir in the scallion and set the batter aside for 1 hour. It will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream. There should be about 3 cups batter.
• To make the filling, roughly divide the pork, shrimp, mushrooms, and onion into 8 portions. (Dividing the ingredients now will ensure less frantic frying and avoid overstuffing.) Put these ingredients along with the mung bean, bean sprouts, batter, and oil next to the stove.
• For each crepe, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a portion each of the pork, shrimp, mushrooms, and onion and sauté, breaking up the meat, for about 45 seconds, or until seared and aromatic. Visualize a line down the middle of the skillet and roughly arrange the ingredients on either side of the line. Anything in the middle would make it hard to fold the crepe neatly later.
• Because the rice will have settled at the bottom of the bowl, give the batter a good stir with a ladle. Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the skillet and swirl the skillet to cover the bottom; a bit going up the side forms a lovely lacy edge. The batter should dramatically sizzle (making that xèo noise!) and bubble. When it settles down, sprinkle on 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mung bean, and then pile 1/2 cup of the bean sprouts on one side. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the bean sprouts have wilted slightly, about 3 minutes.
• Remove the lid and drizzle in 1 teaspoon of the oil around the rim of the pan. Lower the heat slightly and continue to cook, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes to crisp the crepe. The edge will have pulled away from the skillet and turned golden brown. At this point, use a spatula to check underneath for a crispy bottom. From the center to the edge, the crepe should go from being soft to crispy. Lower the heat if you need to cook it longer. When you are satisfied, use a spatula to fold the half without the bean sprouts over the other half. Use the spatula to transfer the crepe to a serving dish, or simply slide it out of the pan onto the dish. Increase the heat to medium-high and repeat with the remaining batter and filling ingredients to make 8 crepes in all. Use any left over batter to make a poor man's crepe without filling. When you are comfortable with the technique, you can try frying the crepes in 2 skillets at the same time. These crepes taste best straight from the skillet, so have diners at the ready.
• Serve the crepes with the vegetable garnish plate and dipping sauce. Pass around 1 or 2 pairs of kitchen scissors for diners to cut their crepes into manageably sized pieces. To eat, tear a piece of lettuce roughly the size of your palm, place a piece of the crepe on it, add cucumber slices and a few herb leaves, shape into a bundle, and dunk into the dipping sauce.
• To prepare a shortcut rice flour batter, in a bowl, stir together 2 cups rice flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric. Make a well in the center, pour in 1/3 cup coconut milk and 2 cups water, and whisk to create a silky batter. Add 1 scallion (white and green parts), thinly sliced, and set aside for 1 hour. Cook this batter in the same way.
• For these crepes and the ones on page 277, buy a pork shoulder steak, debone it, and slice the meat. You do not need to invest in a whole roast.