The bitter, flavored grilled shrimp that I repeat this summer

Given how often I bake, people assume that I favor sweet, but that could not be further away from the truth. I love delicious foods and, looking back, realized that the prevailing taste that shaped my palate from Vietnamese from childhood to adulthood is not sweets, but sour: shiny, mouth -shaped, plywood. Kumquats and limes, passionate fruit, Yuzu and Tamarind – these sour ingredients were my taste playground.

Most fruits – kumquat, lime, passionate fruit and yuzu – are also growing in my garden, the United States. The only one is missing the one tamarind– This taste comes from my Vietnamese memories, where a tamarind tree was in front of our house. I loved that tree. It provided a cool place to avoid heat and was a source of brown pods with their sticky-sweet and bitter cellulosation, constant snacks and inspirations. My mother blasted the brownish pulp with warm water to get the meat out of the seeds and the fibers to make everything from sauce to the candy, but a dish is stood up: grilled tamarind shrimp (sb).

Tamarind is now an integral part of my cooking arsenal. Adds a complex pickle that is delicate and rich – less sharp than lime or vinegar – with a gentle fruity that improves heat, balance of sweets, and raises almost everything you touch. This is the flavor I return to most, and here the stars in my Tôm Nướng. It turns it on shrimp/shrimp, nướng is grilling, and I mean Tamarind.

For the version, my mom sprinkled the juice with fresh tamarind pulp with warm water, then combined with fish sauce, sugar, garlic, peanuts and pepper to marinate the shrimp. Grill them over a charcoal chewing, and as soon as they were cool, we can shake the heads, suck the delicious juices, and hit the cracks to get to the juicy, bitter, smoky meat below it.

Select and prepare the shrimp or shrimp

I call on head-haired shrimp, preferably large tiger cancer, 8/9 (meaning every 8-9 pounds). If you do not find shrimp, the colossal -skinned shrimp will work nicely (preferably with their heads, but the recipe will also work with headless shrimp.)

To prepare the shrimp, use a sharp knife or kitchen scissors along the butterfly back – cut off the meat and leave the head, the shell and the tail intact so that the two parties remain in contact. Carefully separate the shell slightly. This step promotes the marinade into all socks and gaps and the shrimp is tastefully inserted while resting.

Turning on the heads and shells is not just for appearance – the shells act as insulation, protecting the fine meat from the direct grill, helping them to maintain moisture and preventing the mussels from dripping. Meanwhile, the heads are full of flavors and fats, giving riches while grilling and flavoring the marinade during soaking.

In order for meat to slide extra and gently, I borrow a technique from Kenji grilled shrimp recipe and give the shrimp before picking a rapid soaking in ice water with salt and baking soda. This accelerates them and helps to keep them That is the juicy moment When he bites it.

After soaking it and bouncing dry, the shrimp throw the tamarind marinade and rest in the refrigerator for about four hours, they turned halfway to provide a steady coating. The acidic marinade gently gently gently with the shrimp, so even if they leave them for too long for the grill (which is honest, it happens to all of us), it will continue to be pleasantly gentle and tasteful.

The sweet, cake and bitter dip sauce

While the shrimp marinates, I make a simple tamarind sauce with sauce, sugar, garlic and a bird -grained chile. Just spicy enough to return to another bite. The heat can be set up with more chili if this is its style. Gently cook the mixture until it thickens, then let it cool to room temperature while grilling the shrimp and going well.

Grilling and serving the shrimp

When ready for grilling, shake off the excess marinade before cooking the shrimp for a few minutes. The shells become cracked and fragrant, and the meat will be opaque and gentle. Do not overdo it – Shrimp and shrimp are famously easily overeated. Wrap the juicy, smoky, sweet shell on a bowl, dip them generously into the bitter, spicy sauce and eat while still warm.

For me, this dish is more than delicious – this is an edible memory, a snapshot of a sticky summer night, a charcoal grill hissing, and Tamarind Zing on my tongue.

Cooking method
(Keep on the screen awake)

• 1/2 cup (144 g) tamarind (See notes)

• 2 pound (925 g) Head on Shell (Size 8/9) shrimp or head-to-head 8/9 (colossal) shrimp

• 4 teaspoon (9 g) Diamond crystal kosher saltshared; For table salt use half and the same weight

• 1 teaspoon soda

• 1/2 cup (100 g) crystal sugarshared

• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoon (150 ml) fish wordshared (see notes), preferably three cancer or red boats fish sauce

• 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped hazelnut -from 2 medium hazelnut

• 6 garlic clove (30 g) chopped garlicshared

• 1/2 teaspoon soil white pepper

• 1 red bird Chilethinly sliced

• THE few friction -y -the coriander the garnish

1. Add a tamarind pulp and 2 1/4 cups of boiling water to a medium thermal insulation bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. With a metal spoon, the Mash Tamarind Celle, so they release meat from the fibers and the seeds. Filter the tamarind pulp on the fine mesh into another medium bowl. About 1 1/2 cup Tamarind juice should be obtained.

2. To prepare the shrimp: With a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, butterfly, all shrimp or shrimp cut along the back, about halfway. Leave the shell, head and tail intact and hold the two halves without flattening the meat. Remove the vein and throw away.

3. In a large bowl, combine 4 cups (960 ml) ice water, 1 tablespoon of salt and baking soda. Mix well. Add devised shrimp or shrimp and soak for 15 minutes. Remove the shrimp and dry them with paper towels.

4. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/4 cups of tamarind juice, 1/4 cups and 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/4 cups and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, peanuts, 2 tablespoons of garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper until the sugar is dissolved. Add shrimp to the marinade and cool for 4-6 hours, half-turning them.

5. For the sauce of the dip: In a small frying pan, combine 1/4 cups of tamarind juice, 1/4 cups of mound, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of garlic and a bird's eye chile and boil the medium-high heat. Rotate the heat to medium to low and cook, often mixed until the sauce is slightly reduced, approx. 10 minutes.

6. For charcoal grid: It is easy to have a chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal illuminates and the top is covered with gray ash, pour out and sort the coal on the halves of the charcoal. Set the cooking grid in place, cover the grill and let it preheat for 5 minutes.

   For gas grid: Turn all burners high; covering; And heat the grid until hot, approx. 15 minutes. Leave all the burners high.

7. Clean and oil Grilling grill. Shake off the excess marinade and place half of the shrimp or shrimp directly to the hot side of the grill. Cook, halfway, until the shrimp or shrimp are just made and the meat is no longer opaque, 2-3 minutes on the side. Move it to the large bowl and repeat the remaining shrimp or shrimp.

8. Decorate the shrimp with a few coriander and serve immediately with Tamarind sauce.

Special equipment

Fine mesh filter, charcoal or gas grid, charcoal briquettes and chimney

Note

The recipe can be doubled and grilled in items to feed a larger party.

If you want to use a tamarind concentrate then see this tamarind For guidance.

I recommend three cancer or red boat brands for the fish sauce.

Make-Head and Storage

Both the tamarind marinade and the dipped sauce can be prepared 2 days in advance and is ready to use when it comes to room temperature.