My childhood friend Alexia, her husband Olivier (they called themselves “A et O”) and their cutie Alice finally went back to Paris on Monday. Olivier, who’s an avid foodie, really enjoyed eating his way through California. One comment he made to me is that he noticed many savory dishes in California cuisine feature sweet notes.
His remark inspired me to apply a touch of sweetness to seafood for today’s meal. I pan-seared jumbo tiger shrimp, then coated them in a spicy, ginger-y mango sauce. I used it first as a marinade for the shrimp, then used the remainder to baste them to a sweet and spicy glaze.
1. Info for Mango-Glazed Shrimp Recipe
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Servings: 6
- Calories: 118
2. Ingredients for Mango-Glazed Shrimp Recipe
- 1¼ pounds raw jumbo tiger shrimp, (13 shrimp)
- 1 cup mango pulp, freshly made
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cooking rice wine
- 2 teaspoons red chili powder
- 1 (5-inch) chunk fresh ginger, freshly grated
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 lime, freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon curly parsley, for garnish
3. Directions:
3.1 For the ginger
Clean the ginger to remove any dirt. Peel the ginger root with a paring knife (or the edge of a spoon). Grate about 1 inch of ginger with a fine mesh microplane. Gather about 1 tablespoon of grated ginger root. Set aside.
3.2 Prepping the shrimp
Remove and discard the head of the shrimp if it’s still attached. Carefully shell and de-vein the main dark part of the shrimp using a sharp hook-like paring knife, all the way from the head to the tail so when it’s cooked, the shrimp will open up like a butterfly. Make sure to remove the tip of the tail (the shell that covers the tail) as well; this part is very delicate. Rinse the shrimp under cold running water and pat dry using a paper towel. Repeat the same procedure for each shrimp. These steps are tedious but essential for good results. Add 1 teaspoon red chili powder and 1 finely minced clove of garlic.
3.3 Marinating the shrimp
In a large bowl, combine the mango, soy sauce, cooking wine, 1 teaspoon red chili powder, grated ginger, lime and 1 tablespoon oil. Add 1 cup water. Mix well. Reserve about ½ cup for basting the shrimp later, then combine the remaining liquid with the shrimp, 2 cloves garlic (freshly grated), Kosher salt and black pepper. Let stand for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Drain the shrimp and pat dry using paper towels. There should be as little liquid as possible.
3.4 Cooking shrimp
In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil for about 1-2 minutes over high heat. Add the rest of the garlic (finely minced). Cook until fragrant.
Season the shrimp with salt.
Place the shrimp in the pan, one piece at a time. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until seared on one side, then start stir-frying the shrimp for another minute (if the pan is not large enough, you could stir-fry the shrimp in batches). The shrimp will start to open up like a butterfly. Turn off the heat and transfer to a platter. Add the reserved mango sauce to the pan, then return the shrimp, ensuring each shrimp is well coated with the sauce.
Garnish with parsley.
Bon appétit!
4. Tips and advices:
- You could replace the fruit glaze with other fruits such as apricots, papaya or peaches.
- To obtain mango pulp, simply pass ripe, cubed ataulfo mangoes through a blender.
