Viet Cajun Shrimp Boil Wrapped In Banana Leaves Food

VIET-CAJUN SEAFOOD BOIL

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, lemongrass, cayenne, and salt. Simmer until softened and flavors combine, about 5 minutes.
• Add water, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, Cajun seasoning, and Old Bay into large stockpot. Bring to a boil and simmer until flavors combine, about 5 minutes. The broth should be flavorful and spicy, almost too salty.
• Add potatoes and sausages. Cover and boil for 8-10 minutes, until potatoes are almost done. (The potatoes and sausages take longer to cook than clams, shrimp, and corn.)
• Add clams, shrimp, and corn. Cover and boil until clams open and shrimp are pink and curled, about 4-5 minutes.
• Using a mesh strainer, transfer potatoes, sausages, clams, shrimp, and corn to a tray. Leave behind broth and aromatics (garlic, ginger, lemongrass). Cover tray loosely with foil and set aside.
• Bring broth to a boil. When the broth is furiously simmering, add lobsters. Cover and boil until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. The lobsters should be bright red. Transfer to tray with tongs, making sure to remove the foil first. Scatter with sliced green scallions.
• Serve with Spicy Garlic Butter Sauce divided evenly into 4 ramekins. Also, serve the broth in small bowls for additional dipping. Enjoy!

VIETNAMESE CAJUN SEAFOOD BOIL

Steps:

• Rinse the seafood. Rinse the shrimp and crab legs. Scrub and soak the clams in cold salted water for 30 minutes then rinse the clams until the water becomes clear. Set aside.
• Make the broth. In a large stockpot, fill the pot halfway (about 1 gallon) with water. Add the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, old bay, lemon, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the seafood and vegetables. Add the potatoes and return to a gentle boil. Uncover and boil on medium-high for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, add clams and sausage. Cover the pot and boil on medium-high for 5 minutes. Lastly, add crab legs, shrimp, and corn. Cover pot, and let the mixture stand on low heat until the shrimp and clams are cooked through about 3-5 minutes. The seafood is cooked when the shrimp turns pink and the clams open. Using a colander, drain the seafood and discard the water. Discard the lemongrass, lemons, ginger, and garlic. Set aside.
• Make the garlic butter sauce. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the old bay, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and sugar until combined. Next in a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and minced garlic. Saute the garlic until fragrant. Then add the seasoning mix, lemon juice and Louisiana hot sauce. Stir until combined. Turn off heat and set aside.
• Mix together. Transfer the seafood and vegetables to a large mixing bowl and toss the seafood with the butter sauce evenly coats the seafood. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lemon and salt and pepper.

CAJUN SHRIMP BOIL

Steps:

• Fill a very large (24-quart) pot with 8 quarts of water set over high heat. Add seasoning pouches, cayenne, salt, onions and celery. Squeeze lemon juice, and add wedges. Break garlic into cloves, and discard excess skin, then add unpeeled cloves. Cover the pot, and bring to a rolling boil.
• Lay corn on a baking sheet in a single layer, then place in freezer.
• Taste the water after it comes to a boil. It should be very heavily salted and spiced, with a bright orange foam (when standing near the boiling pot causes you to cough, it's spicy enough).
• Add potatoes and sausage to the pot, and let the water return to a boil. Turn off heat, and allow to soak for 10 minutes or until potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Bring the water to a boil, and add shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn off heat, add corn and allow to soak for 7 minutes. Drain, and serve immediately with rémoulade (preferably on a newspaper-lined table).

FOIL-PACKET SHRIMP BOIL

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium. Microwave the potatoes until softened but not fully cooked, about 5 minutes. Let cool a few minutes, then dice.
• Put 4 tablespoons butter in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Add the potatoes, corn, garlic and Old Bay and toss well; season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Tear off four 18-inch-long sheets of foil. Divide the vegetables among the foil sheets, piling them in the middle. Add the shrimp to the same bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper; toss well. Add the shrimp to the vegetable piles.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons wine over each pile of vegetables and shrimp. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into 4 pieces and add a piece to each pile. Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold twice; fold in the sides to form a packet.
• Grill the foil packets until the potatoes are tender and the shrimp is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the grill and let stand 5 minutes. Carefully open the packets and sprinkle with the parsley; serve with the lemon wedges.

MONKFISH WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES WITH GINGER, CILANTRO, CHILE, AND COCONUT MILK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C/gas 8).
• To make the banana leaves more pliable, hold for a few seconds over a gas flame. Leaving aside the fish and herb sticks, pound the rest of the ingredients in a pestle and mortar to make a thick paste and spoon a little onto each banana leaf. Place the fish on top and then spoon the rest of the paste on the top. Bringing the sides in and spiking it with a rosemary sprig or bay leaf stick to secure it. This will look lovely and it is natural, but I have been known to use a clothes peg or string to hold it all together. It won't be a perfect seal but this allows it to breath and steam, letting the flavors infuse, so gutsy and tasty. Put the parcels on a tray and bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• I serve the individual parcels on plates at the table and let my friends dissect them. When opened, the fragrant steam wafts up and smells fantastic. Serve with plain boiled rice to mop up the juices, that's all it has to be. End of story, done, lovely.

SHRIMP AND BANANA

Steps:

• Sear the shrimp on one side in a skillet on medium-high heat with a little bit of vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Add the shallots and garlic. Once the shrimp are partially cooked, after about 1 minute, remove from the skillet. Next, add the bananas and break up the bananas with tongs while sauteing to essentially mash. Saute for 1 minute.
• Add the water/soy mix, sambal and honey and saute another minute until heated through. Return the shrimp to the skillet and finish cooking, 2 to 3 minutes. Finish with the lime juice and cilantro, and then season again if necessary.
• Spoon the banana sauce into bowls. A small concave vessel with a large bell is best. Place 5 shrimp to a bowl on top of the sauce. Garnish with onion sprouts.