When people ask me what kind of food I cook, I like to say that fresh and local ingredients are the foundation, but that my travels always inspire my flavors. Whenever I travel, I try to take a cooking class and pick up some spices or ingredients to bring home to my kitchen. The first time I made this dish, the turmeric was from Israel, the second time, it was from India! Even though I’ve never been to Japan, the cuisine is my absolute favorite, and the flavors heavily influence my cooking.
This dish came about, as many do, on a night when I wanted to explore my pantry, and not buy a ton of ingredients. The only thing purchased for this meal were the shrimp, and everything else I had on hand. The first time I made this, I served it with rice, but I’ve also done sweet potato puree (pictured below) and noodles. Make sure you buy yourself a nice bottle of sake or a Japanese beer to drink with this!
SAKE-STEAMED SHRIMP
serves 4 – 6
2 ½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 c mirin
2 tsp turmeric
1 Tbs salt
2 Tbs unsalted butter
In a sauté pan, heat 1 Tbs of each sesame and coconut oils together. Add half of shrimp, seasoning with salt, and cook for a minute, then stir to flip shrimp. Remove shrimp from pan, and add second half of oils before searing the second half of the shrimp.
Add the first half of shrimp back, with the mirin and the turmeric. Turn heat up, cover with a lid, and steam for 2 minutes, until shrimp are pink.
Plate shrimp on to each plate, leaving sauce in the pan. Return pan to medium heat, until simmering, then add butter and turn heat up, swirling the pan. When sauce comes together, pour over shrimp.
