Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

small pineapple, courtesty Josch13, pixabay.com

Oh, the elegant, beautiful, and delicious Pineapple!

Here is a new recipe (that's sort of a mixture of recipes) that I tried out that was a  hit and tons of fun. It's another Thai based dish, so be sure and do all your prep ahead of time because once you begin, this goes fast.

As many of you know by now, I love spices and sauces and think that certain ones are just outstanding. I am always learning more. As my understanding and use of these expands, I try to name important or essential ones I use in my own recipes. I have listed the ones I used for this dish below in the ingredients.

Note: the recipe below is a big one, good for eight people and great for entertaining, but it doesn't reheat again well, so reduce the size to 1/4th if it's just for two.


Recipe

Ingredients:

10 ounces or large handful of uncooked, peeled raw shrimp –bite size–  or, if like me, you like jumbo shrimp, just cut up (each piece into three) for bite size pieces ahead of cooking

1-1/2 cups of cut pineapple 

2-3 Tbsps grapeseed oil (superior cooking oil)

3-4 cups precooked and refrigerated (24-48 hours) plain Jasmine Rice

Add and mix together:

3 Tbsps soy sauce ( I use gluten free low sodium)

1 Tbsp Red Boat Fish Sauce
(ONLY use Premium Fish Sauce)
(I use different brand Premium Fish Sauces for different dishes. This one is very good in this dish and available at Kroger's and Whole Foods)

2 tsps curry powder (Morton and Bassett is awesome - if you can find it,  keep it with your choices spices! I swear this spice makes this dish unbelievable!)

salt and black and white pepper and a tsp. sugar

Set Aside:

1-3 long sliced Thai peppers and seeds (include seeds with these peppers only)

1-3 Fresno Peppers* (optional) (cut up into thin pieces or chopped small)
(Important Note: Remove Seeds! They will make you choke!)
(*Can substitute with cherry chilis or 1/4 red bell pepper)  (NO seeds with any of these peppers!)

1/4 cup chicken stock or less as needed while cooking

fresh lime zest (1/2 lime)

fresh lime juice (1/2 lime)

1 egg (room temperature)

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

1/3 cup raw whole cashews

salt and black and white pepper


Cut and Prepare and Mix Together:

1-3 grated or julienned carrots

 plus

1-2 cups of assorted small cut vegetables (I used a combination of scizzor-cut fresh snow peas and sweet peas with stick-cut mushrooms and cilantro and added some of my julienned vegetables* in too.  (*see labels)  Whatever is in the fridge can work, some people add in frozen peas, but I like fresh whenever possible.

For Garnish:

Serve with extra Cut Cilantro and Soy Sauce

Prep

1.  Place shrimp (if frozen) in cold water bowl to defrost, then cut into bite size pieces
(or, if fresh, rinse, cut if necessary, and set aside)

2.  Run fingers through cooked rice to unclump with a little drizzle of grapeseed oil - set aside.

3.  Cut Pineapple into pieces and set aside

4.  Cut or Julianne fresh combined-vegetables (as described above)

5.  Assemble other ingredients separately (as described above)

Directions

1.  In wok or large frying pan heat grapeseed oil with liberal salt and black and white pepper at medium high, stir in cashews, turning quickly until light brown - remove with a screened or slotted spoon and set aside on separate plate (can place paper towels on plate to drain)

2.  In same pan, add Thai peppers and Fresno and red peppers stir and press until fragrant but do not burn (about 1 minute), remove with screened or slotted spoon set aside on separate plate.

3.  Add shrimp to the pan and cook until pink and push to side

4.  Crack egg into pan and scramble and push to side of pan

5.  Add vegetable mix to pan and continue quickly stir-frying (the little cut pieces will cook fast) –add a little more oil to the bottom of the pan as needed to keep from sticking or a little chicken stock 1 Tbsp. at a time.

6.  Now add in rice, pineapple chunks, lime zest, and lime juice and return the cashews and cooked peppers to dish and stir egg back in from side, stirring quickly (Note: don't use chicken stock in at this point, after rice is added, or it will become soft. If needed, add a little more grapeseed oil.) Add in bean sprouts.

7.  Add sauce mixture stirring quickly.

Check dish and, if wanted, add extra salt and black pepper to taste

Serve Immediately with Cilantro Garnish and Soy Sauce on Table

For Fun: Serve in Cut Out Pineapple Shells!

Enjoy!

-bbffair

Water Crystals and Vibrations in Food

There are some very interesting studies concerning water and how its structure changes when it is loved or appreciated.

According to the scientists involved, the structure of the water can go from a broken look to resembling snowflakes or crystals. And that that can change by how you behave around the water.

Today, as I was doing a food prep and cutting up my vegetables for my julienned vegetables and my carrot-parsnip-cinnamon recipes, (something I like to prep for the week about every other week), I was thinking about this and also about how my food prep time has become like a meditation for me.

It has come up again for me that food changes when it is loved. This may sound really out there, but I change when I am loved too.

I can't eat angry food. When my husband and I first got together, it was paramount that he understood that. You see, he is a great cook! But he also used to be prone to perfectionism and could become easily frustrated in the kitchen too. But when he got that way, I COULD NOT eat what he had served.

Likewise, when I have been in very healthy places where people love to cook and serve delicious, nutrient-rich, beautiful food, there has always been that feeling of something special in the ingredients.

I wonder what the molecules look like!


-bbffair

[Beautiful Photograph Above by: Mark Charles Langdon, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org  /   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Water_Crystals_on_Mercury_20Feb2010_CU1.jpg
His Description:

English: This is a photograph of water crystal growth on the window of my 1993 Mercury automobile, taken on the morning of February 20, 2010 with a Kodak M1063 digital camera. It shows a classic example of an emergent phenomenon in a physical system.]

~~

[Web page from one of various studies and theories regarding water's spirituality and capacity to transform:

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/aug1/consciouswater.html]

Monday Grocery List and Healthy Food Prep

At the beginning of the week, or whenever, and sometimes twice a week, I prep a few things. Lately, the following two have been on my favs list:

Julienned vegetables:

two very fresh zucchini
two very fresh yellow squash
five beautiful carrots
four big fresh white mushrooms, the stalks removed
a handful of very fresh cilantro

(Add all these items to your grocery list. Cilantro needs to be very fresh and I buy it twice a week so I always have a very fresh supply. I love the way it smells and tastes in food and how it makes my kitchen smell too.)

I usually buy most of my groceries at Kroger because it's my neighborhood grocery store and it's convenient and cheap. However, if the vegetables don't look irresistible, I go to Hiller's or Whole Food.

I eat an apple before I begin my prep.

Julienne the zucchini, squash, carrots and mushrooms (slice the mushrooms way thin and then along the long cut again so you have these little pin pieces). I like to julienne the zucchini, squash, and carrots as thin and as long as I can cut them. I have a mandolin, but I don't have the counter space to keep all my fancy tools out and I enjoy cutting them.

After all is julienned, they all go into a big plastic zip bag with a handful of fresh scissor-cut cilantro leaves on top.

I will use these throughout the week. For some dishes, I will heat up a pan very hot with non-stick spray and a small amount (1tsp to 1TBSP depending on the amount of veges) of soy free "Earth Balance" (that is wonderful to cook with and in the Kroger Health Food cold section). If I need more, I will add in 1 TBSP of Sunflower Oil. I hot quick-cook (throwing them into a hot pan and turning with a spatula often for a few minutes) just what I need. I often throw a bunch of the uncooked ones in afterwards and mix the two. It makes a great and yummy side-dish. Also, a handful in here and there in other dishes really makes them pop with flavor and vitamins.

Add to grocery list:

Soy Free Earth Balance (Health Food section - Krogers)
or Fresh (grass fed) Sweet or lightly salted butter
sunflower oil
parsnips
more nice carrots
package of nice slivered almonds
five assorted (why not try a few varieties!) fresh apples - great for hunger staving snacks!
3-5 fresh oranges (Along with apples, oranges can make a great "finish" to a meal!)
cinnamon
Organic Imagine Sweet Potato Soup (Health Food section - Krogers)
fresh ground pepper
fresh four pepper cracked pepper

Second Prep: Carrot - Parsnip Mix
(This is sort of a take-off on Tracy Anderson's recipe that was a sort of happy accident that turned out delicious! At least I think so!)

cut up two carrots and an equal amount of parsnips
add sprigs of scissor-cut cilantro

Stick it all in a food processor. (I have a "Magic Bullet" but I'll be damned if that thing can chop, so it's my trusty Cuisinart for me.) Pulse chop/mix/process it until it is sort of grainy. If you have to, add a few drops of water, but not more than you need. You want this gritty in texture, not baby food. Then add a touch or more (I like more!) of cinnamon. (All cinnamon is not the same. I have some fancy expensive stuff but it makes my head explode - so pure that it's sort of an irritant to me. So, for me, it's three or four shakes of my trusty household McCormic cinnamon.) I make about two cups and use it in lots of things throughout the week.

-bbffair