Sesame Orange Shrimp

This technique is a must try if you like shrimp. It is a pretty healthful dish, speedy quick to make, and most importantly so tasty! It's even worth me suffering through one of my least favorite cooking chores — peeling and deveining shrimp.

Usually I grill shrimp or add them to a stir fry, but I was in the mood for something new. After some thoughtful Googling, I came across a few recipes (one from Martha, another from Eating Well) that used similar ingredients and techniques. And it's surprisingly light for how fried the shrimp taste!

Serve this shrimp over brown or white rice with a nice side of something green to get a little veg in. Brad and I both loved this dish — B said that it tasted like really high-quality Chinese food (i.e., from a good restaurant). And you don't have to worry about consuming any excess oil a la deep-fry, breading the shrimp, or any of that mess. Eat up, people! 

Thai Beef Rolls

In an effort to use up my basil before the weather turns cooler for the season, I found a recipe for Thai Basil Rolls on Serious Eats. These rolls have a great Thai flavor — made tastier by a sweet and spicy dipping sauce.

We had these for a light dinner, but they would make a great appetizer!

Asian-Inspired Coleslaw

Sure the main dish is important, but the sides should be just as interesting! Recently I've made a couple side/salad recipes that were colorful and tasty additions to summer meals.

The first side was Asian-inspired coleslaw, a recipe that I got from my good friend Melissa (shout out, yo!). It's very fresh and has a little more flavor than your average coleslaw. The original recipe calls for ground ginger, but using fresh ginger makes it smell and taste amazing! And if your coleslaw (store-bought or self-chopped) has a lot of red cabbage in the mix, it's a pretty attractive dish as well!

Asian Coleslaw (about 6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 lb. pre-shredded coleslaw mix (Whole Foods makes a great one!)
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
2-3 tbsp. lime juice (2 limes for me)
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

• Blend all ingredients except coleslaw mix in a small bowl and thin with a splash of milk. 
• Pour over coleslaw mix and stir well. Refrigerate coleslaw for at least an hour before serving and garnish with a little chopped cilantro if that's up your alley!

Stay tuned for side #2...

Indonesian Grilled Swordfish

We were looking to make something "of the sea" and found beautiful swordfish steaks at John Yi's in Reading Terminal Market. I was a little unsure since I'd never made swordfish and had no recipe in mind yet.

I remembered seeing Ina Garten making swordfish on one of her episodes of Barefoot Contessa, so I decided to start off with her recipe. It happened to use several of my favorite ingredients — fresh ginger, lemon zest, and garlic — and seemed promising! The smell of the ginger alone was enough to make me enjoy the recipe!

As usual, I made a few changes to her recipe. My version is below.