Oh come on! You HAD to know that there was no other song for a recipe like this! You know it's the first thing that popped into your head - and you were singing and jiving along before you even got to the first sentence of this post! Haha! It's ok! Ever since the song played on the air, nobody can say the words "coconut" and "lime" in the same sentence without someone within hearing distance singing the words! That's the sign of a good song - a song that brings about happy and carefree feelings! And this recipe does the same for me. I hope you find it does the same for you!
My husband and I were lucky to be on
the island of Kauai last January.
Even though it tends to rain a lot on that
island, hey, you're in Hawaii!
Somehow Hawaiian rain just feels
better than mainland rain!
Hard to let it get you down!
Of course, I started doing research on
the places to eat before I got there.
I was happy to find so many really
good options.
The very first place that got my
attention was a place called
Savage Shrimp.
Isn't that a great name?!
It's in a little shopping
village in Poipu.
Once they had my attention with the
name, they kept it with a perusal of
the menu!
I was salivating already and
the reviews promised that
I would not be disappointed!
I mean, it's shrimp!
My FAVORITE food on
the planet!
It's a walk-up-to-the-counter-and-order
kind of place.
Then you go out and hopefully score a seat
at one of the tables on their deck.
I knew what I was getting before
I got there - the Bahia Shrimp Plate!
It was peeled shrimp scampi
in a coconut milk broth.
They used some tomatoes and OJ
and it was phenomenal
served over rice!
So much so that I made time
to go back and have it again!
I knew that I was going to
have to attempt a recreation of
some sort when I got home!
I was surprised at how easy it was
to come fairly close.
I used a more traditional
lime and coconut flavor
combination
(see, you're singing it again!)
and I just am so very happy with the result!
Another time, I'll try to do a more
exact copy of their OJ
and tomato version!
Either way,
Go get some shrimp and
get cooking!
Coconut Lime Shrimp
Serves 4
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup sake
1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk, preferably not light
1/2 - 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
zest of one lime
Juice of half a lime
1 " finely grated fresh ginger, or to taste
kosher or sea salt to taste
3 cups of cooked white long-grain rice
I usually buy my shrimp raw, in the shell. Sometimes it's deveined, sometimes not. I don't mind the task of peeling and deveining. I've become pretty quick at it over the years. It's pretty much the only "labor" involved with the dish. You decide how you want to approach this part. Just please don't use precooked shrimp. I often save the shells and make a fish stock from them. When I'm done peeling and deveining I had a good-looking pile of shrimp like this:
Set aside the prepared shrimp and heat the olive oil in a shallow pan. Once the oil is hot I add the shrimp and do a quick saute for about one minute. You aren't cooking the shrimp all the way at this point - just giving them a head start and getting that shrimpy flavor into the oil and pan. Remove the pink but uncooked shrimp from the pan and place on a plate.
You can see that they are pink but still not quite opaque down their backs. Set them aside.
If you need to, add a little more olive oil to the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add the minced garlic. Remove from heat if the pan is still pretty hot. You don't want to burn that garlic! Stir the garlic in the pan for a minute and then add the sake. Turn up the heat and cook the sake until it's reduced by about one half. When it's reduced, reduce the heat and slowly add the coconut milk by pouring it into the pan down the side and letting it ooze out into the sake and garlic. Add the sambal oelek - as much or as little as you like. Give it a stir and turn the heat back up and let it come to a low boil. You are essentially making a coconut milk reduction. Let it boil until it thickens up a bit and the bubbles become larger in size. It's not going to be a super thick sauce in the end. When it's about done, add the grated fresh ginger and the lime zest and stir. Also, add the shrimp back in at this point along with any juices that were released on the plate. Cook for another minute or two until the shrimp have cooked through. Right before serving over the rice, add the lime juice and salt to taste and stir in. Put some rice in a bowl and ladle the shrimp and broth over. You can garnish with some fresh lime wedges or more lime zest. A sprig of cilantro wouldn't be a bad idea either! I know you'll enjoy!
And for the sake of being real, after I took the top photo - but before I dug in - I went back and added more shrimp - because SHRIMP!!!!! This is the "for reals" photo! Haha!
