Shrimp Jicama Tacos with Mango Pico De Gallo

A couple of years ago we ate at Peska during Houston Restaurant Weeks. One of the appetizers featured was shrimp jicama tacos. I really enjoyed this dish so we decided to recreate it at home. It's super easy to make and cost efficient. If you would like to make some of these yummy tacos please continue reading.

Ingredients:
15 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium jicama, sliced into sheets like tortillas
***alternatively, you could buy the sliced jicama prepackaged (I saw some at HEB)
1 medium mango, diced (I prefer yellow Alphonso mango)
1 small Roma tomato, diced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
Cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime
Cumin
Salt
Black pepper
Cajun season or old bay
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of paprika
Salsa (optional)

Step 1:
Peel and devein the shrimp. I bought large ez peel shrimp for convenience. Marinate with 1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's or old bay, black pepper, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of paprika. Set aside.

Step 2:
If you bought prepackaged sliced jicama, then skip to step 3. Peel jicama carefully. If you have a mandoline slicer this will be a breeze. If not, you will need to slice the jicama in thin, even sheets. Set aside.

Step 3:
Prepare the ingredients for the mango pico. Peel and dice the mango. Cut the tomato and throw away the seed/core and dice. Dice the onions and chop the cilantro. Put them in a bowl a d squeeze half a lime (if you like it more tangy, use a whole lime). Add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix and taste. Set aside.

Step 4:
You may either grill the shrimp or pan sear them. I seared them in a hot pan for about 2 minutes each side. Once you're done cooking the shrimp, you're ready to assemble. I used large shrimp and a medium sized jicama so 1 shrimp per jicama taco. If you use smaller shrimp, you will need to double (2 per taco). You can see in the picture below, one of my jicama tacos actually has 2 smaller shrimp.

Top your tacos with the mango pico, salsa or hot sauce of your choice and they're ready to devour. Good luck and enjoy!

Crawfish Fried Rice (Com Chien Crawfish)

Last week I boiled a BIG pot of crawfish for my family. My Cali fam couldn't finish 69 pounds of crawfish, so we peeled some of the plump crawfish tails. I suggested we make crawfish fried rice because it's easy and delicious!

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked white rice (I make mine the day before so it doesn't get wet and soggy when you fry it)
12 oz to 1 lb crawfish tails, whatever size you can find in stores
1 stick of Chinese sausage (lap xuong), sliced
(If you can't find Chinese sausage, you can substitute with andouille sausage)
1/2 cup peas (frozen, but thawed out)
1/2 cup corn (can or frozen works)
*I like corn and peas, so I used a whole cup of each*
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
3 eggs, beaten, cooked and sliced julienne strips
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp cooking oil
2 Tbsp light soy sauce (lower sodium)
Black pepper
Cajun seasoning, Old Bay or Tony C's (1-2 tsp, to taste)
Optional: sliced green onions

Step 1:
Add oil to pan. Add onion, garlic and Chinese sausage and saute for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add rice to pan and 1 Tbsp butter. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring the rice to break it up. Sprinkle 1 tsp of cajun seasoning and stir to incorporate in rice.

Step 2:
Add crawfish, peas, corn, eggs, pepper (to taste) and the remaining Tbsp of butter and cook for 5 minutes. You need to stir the fried rice constantly so it doesn't burn. Add soy sauce and stir to incorporate. Taste, add more cajun seasoning or soy sauce if desired. Add green onion if desired.

Your crawfish fried rice is ready to serve. Add more black pepper if desired. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!

Seafood Gumbo with Andouille Sausage

Another one of my favorite food is gumbo. I prefer seafood gumbo because I love shrimp and crab. My fiance and I were craving some gumbo, so I made us a big ole pot of seafood gumbo. We shared some with his sisters too. This freezes great and easy to reheat. If you love gumbo as much as I do, keep reading because I found a great recipe. I made some changes to suit my taste. If you don't like seafood, you can make this gumbo with chicken and andouille sausage.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup bacon drippings (you can use butter, but bacon drippings is better)
1 cup chopped celery (I chopped about 4 stalks of celery)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced (I used 12 oz since that's what the package came in)
3 1/2 quarts water, add more if needed
4 cubes beef bouillon
1 tablespoon white sugar
salt to taste
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco), or to taste
2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend (I used Old Bay), or to taste
4 bay leaves
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons gumbo file powder plus 2 teaspoons gumbo file powder reserved for the end
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen cut okra, thawed and washed thoroughly to remove as much of the slimy texture as possible
1 pound lump crab meat (I used the one from Costco... trust me, the quality is so good)
1 1/2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
White rice, prepared in advance

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours

 

 

 

Step 1:
Cook  6 strips of bacon in a big pot. I cut mine in half so it would fit better in my dutch oven. Once bacon is cooked, remove from pot. Add flour and whisk 15-20 minutes to develop your roux. Make sure you constantly whisk your roux so it doesn't burn. When your roux is a mahogany color (see pic below), it's ready.

 

 

Step 2:
Add your holy trinity (onion, celery and bell pepper) and garlic to the roux. Stir it around for a few minutes then add your andouille sausage. Stir it for another 5 minutes. Remove the roux mixture from the pot and set aside.

 

Step 3:
In the pot, add 3 quarts of water and 4 cubes of beef buillon. Bring to a boil and add roux mixture. Add stewed tomato, tomato sauce, cajun seasoning, bay leaves, sugar and hot sauce. Simmer on low heat for 50 minutes.

 

 

Step 4:
After 50 minutes have passed, add gumbo file powder and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. After the additional 30 minutes, add okra, shrimp and crab meat. Stir gently to mix. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir in additional gumbo file powder. Taste and make any adjustments. Discard bay leaves and serve with white rice.

 

 

I store my gumbo in to go soup containers (see pic below). This recipe makes about 5 quarts. Easy to store and easy to give to family and friends. Good luck and enjoy!

Crawfish Etouffee

Who loves crawfish... this girl! Every start of crawfish season, we boil up a big pot to satisfy our cravings. We had extra, so I peeled the crawfish tails, vacuum sealed those suckers and threw them in the freezer.

It just occurred to me the other day that I had these delectable crawfish tails in the freezer. So crawfish etouffee it is. If you are a crawfish lover like me, keep reading to see how I made this delicious dish. If you are not a crawfish fan, you can use shrimp instead.

Ingredients:

1 lb of frozen crawfish tails (or fresh if you have access to it)

1 bell pepper, diced (I used half of a green and half of a red)

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups of shrimp stock (all I had on hand was chicken broth and it worked perfectly)

1 cup of water (reserve to thin out if too thick)

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 sticks of butter

3 Tablespoons of flour

Old bay seasoning or any other Cajun seasoning (start with 1-2 teaspoons, add more to taste)

Black pepper

*Optional to add a kick: 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce (I used cayenne and Tabasco) 

*parsley for garnish

*you may want to prepare white rice in advance

Tip: I like to use a small container to collect all of my scraps and trash during prep. Just dump out the container afterwards and rinse. 

Step 1:

Add butter to pot and wait for it to melt. Then add flour. Using a whisk, blend the flour and butter (see picture below). You will need to whisk or stir the roux so it doesn't burn. I didn't spend too much time on my roux since this is not gumbo and you don't need it to be dark. About 7-8 minutes should be good. Mine was a little bit lighter than the color of peanut butter.

Step 2:

Add garlic, bell pepper, celery, onion and bay leaves to roux and sautee for another 7-8 minutes until tender. Add crawfish, stock/broth. Once you add the stock, it will thicken. If it is too thick for your liking, add water until the broth is to your liking. Bring to a boil.

Step 3:

Add old bay or cajun seasoning and pepper to taste . Remember to add as you go. You can always add more seasoning, but you can't take it away! Simmer uncovered on medium low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne pepper and Tabasco. Make any last minute seasoning adjustments as this is the final stretch. Discard bay leaves. You want a good flavor, but don't want to overpower it since the crawfish is the star of the dish. Plate up, garnish with parsley flakes and you're ready to devour. 

Good luck and enjoy!

Lau Thai (Thai Style Hot Pot)

Yesterday was my bf's dad's birthday. We thought it would be nice to cook for his parents, so we decided to make hot pot. It was a huge hit... everyone enjoyed our hot pot. We had a great time chatting while eating our hot pot. Preparations were minimal and clean up wasn't too hard. A perfect night and dinner for less than $40. This recipe makes enough for 6-8 people. Good luck!

Broth:

• 3 cans chicken broth, 14oz
• 3 cans water, same can
• 5-6 Tbsp Tom Yum Soup Paste (see pic)
• 1-2 Tbsp Tamarind powder base (you can find this in the spice aisle of the Asian supermarket) *amount varies to your taste… use more if you prefer sour, use less if you prefer less sour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 small onion or ½ large onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• Sate/chili oil (optional)
• 2-3 tsp Fish sauce (optional)

*depending on your taste, if you like your broth more salty you may want to add a bit of fish sauce

Other Ingredients:

• Slices of meat (Eye round or rib eye)
• 1 small Napa cabbage
• 1 bunch Spinach
• 2 pk Enoki Mushroom, they’re white, long, and thin
• 1 pk Fried fish balls, cuttle fish balls, shrimp balls, use whatever you like
• Quail eggs (1 can should be enough)
• 1 pk Clams or mussels
• ½ - 1 lb Shrimp
• 2-3 filets of Fish, sliced (I use Swai, but you can omit fish if you don’t like fish)
• Rice noodles (bun), but if you like egg noodles (mi) then use that
• Electric hot pot or a pot and a portable gas range

Step 1 - Preparing the Broth

In a large pot bring your water and chicken broth to a slight boil, and then add Tom Yum paste, tamarind powder (if you cannot find this then you can just use limes), and sugar. Make sure you stir well to dissolve the seasonings. Taste and if you need more sour add a little more tamarind powder or lime. If the broth is not salty enough for you, then you may add a teaspoon or 2 of fish sauce. If you like your broth spicy, then add some sate/chili oil. Then add the sliced onions and tomatoes and turn heat to low. When you season your food, remember you can add more to it, but you can’t take away… so just add a little bit at a time until you like the taste.

Step 2 - Preparing the other Ingredients

While your broth is keeping warm, you should prepare the other ingredients. Wash your veggies and dry them. You do not have to cut the spinach, but you do have to cut the napa cabbage into 1 ½ to 2 inch slices. Take your meat out of the package and place on a different plate (don’t mix your meats and veggies). I used to use eye round (thit tai for pho), but now I use thin slices of rib eye. It’s sooo much better, trust me! Place clams and slices fish on the meat plate. Open the can of quail eggs and rinse them in water, dry them, and place in another plate. Wash and dry your shrimp, fish balls or cuttlefish balls and place them on the same plate as your quail eggs.

*If you are serving more than 4 people, I suggest splitting the meats and veggies into 2 plates, one for each side of the table, it’s more convenient.

Step 3 - Finishing up

Cook rice noodles/bun as per instructions on the bag. Prepare your plates on the table and split the rice noodles into 2 portions, one for each side of the table. Ladle your broth into the pot that you are using for the hot pot. If you do not have an electric hot pot, you can use a shallow pot and a portable gas range (see pic). Wait for the broth to slightly boil before adding your meats and veggies… and enjoy!

Ca Nhoi Thit Cua (Crab Stuffed Flounder)

Last week I was feeling a little adventurous and came up with this recipe for Crab Stuffed Flounder, my dish for Lent. I let my parents try it and they loved it! They even asked me to make some more for them this week, since tomorrow is no meat Friday ;) I served my fish with white rice, but this can be served as an appetizer or even a main dish with a side of steamed or pan seared asparagus. Yum! This recipe makes sixteen 1 ½ - 2 inch fish rolls.

Ingredients:

• 8 filets of Flounder (I used frozen Flounder that I got from Sam’s Club 3 lbs. for $11 and I only used about 1/3 of the bag, you can substitute Talapia if desired, just make sure the filets aren’t too thick)
• 1 cup lump crab meat
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ onion, finely diced (about 2 Tbsp)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 shallots, minced
• 4 Tbsp Mayonnaise
• ½ tsp lime or lemon juice
• ½ tsp garlic salt (or just a pinch)
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• Pinch of paprika
• 2 Tbsp sliced scallions (green onion)
• 8 toothpicks, broken in half
• (Optional) ¼ Green Bell Pepper, finely diced
• (Optional) Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

Spicy Mayo Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp Mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Siracha (Rooster Sauce), use less if you don’t like spicy
• ½ tsp sugar

*Mix well and put in sandwich bag or squeeze bottle

Step 1

Thaw and clean fish, then cut in half length wise. Lightly sprinkle Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning on both sides of fish and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2

In a medium sized bowl, mix together crab meat, mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic, shallots, onion, bread crumbs, sugar, garlic salt, black pepper, cilantro, bell pepper (optional) and a pinch of paprika (optional).

Step 3

Prepare baking tray (if you want easy clean up, line your tray with foil) and liberally spray Pam (non stick cooking spray) to ensure fish doesn’t stick to the tray. Place your fish in a standing position and make it into a roll (see pic). Then gently fill with crab stuffing while gently pushing down. Then gently secure your fish roll with ½ of the toothpick (see pic). Place each finished roll onto your baking tray.

Step 4

When finished placing all of your rolls, drizzle a little bit of spicy mayo on top. Bake in center rack for 15 minutes. Then carefully move your baking tray to your oven top and drizzle a little bit more of spicy mayo on top. Then carefully place some scallions on top and return to oven and bake for an additional 3 minutes, just until the scallions give off their scrumptious aroma.

Step 5

Carefully remove baking tray from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, prepare your plate. Drizzle some spicy mayo on your plate in any pattern you want. Then remove the toothpicks from your rolls and plate them. Enjoy as appetizer or with white rice.

Muc Rang Muoi (Salt and Pepper Squid)

I finally made it to the Vietnamese market and bought ingredients to make Muc Rang Muoi. This dish is very simple to make and only requires 3-4 ingredients. This dish can be served with white rice or as an appetizer. Let's get started!



Ingredients:
1 lb. squid
2-3 jalapenos
tempura mix (if you don't have tempura, then just use flour)
oil for frying
2 Tbsp olive oil
scallions (optional)
slices of onion (optional)



Step 1
Clean squid: Separate the tentacles and cut off the part with the eyes. Peel off the skin. Pull out the plastic like part (see pic). If you buy the ones that are already cleaned, you may skip the cleaning part.


Step 2
Cut the squid into 1/2 to 3/4 inch rings. Prepare a ziploc bag with an overflowing 1/2 cup of tempura mix. Slightly drain squid and toss in ziploc bag. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. In the mean time, slice your jalapenos, cut your scallions into 1 inch pieces, and set aside.


Step 3
After 30 minutes, heat a small pot with oil. Take squid out of freezer and when oil is hot start frying your squid until golden brown. Once you are done with frying, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a wok or large pan and add your jalapenos. Let cook on medium for a minute or two. Then add squid and sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper then toss for a minute. Add scallions and toss for another minute. Plate your squid and it's ready to be served. You may serve this dish with lime/lemon, pepper, and salt dip.