Wasabi Asian Shrimp

Wasabi Asian Shrimp... Well sometimes once I start eating one type of food I end up craving it more - have you ever had that happen?? For instance you go to Mexico on vaca and you come home wanting chips & guac and tortilla soup for days after ward. Or in this case, you have Pho on Thursday, you plan another Pho date with your friend on the following Wednesday, and because those asian flavors are persistent in the forefront of your mind (and taste buds) you cant help but creating an asian inspired dinner on Monday.


On the Menu:
Wasabi Asian shrimp with snap peas and pot stickers.


The Shrimp & Peas:
For the shrimp dish I just sort of used things around my pantry/fridge, including garlic, soy sauce, a dash of soyaki, and crushed wasabi sweet peas. In a large sauce pan I sauteed the snap peas with oil and garlic until lightly cooked. Add a big splash of soy sauce and let the greens soften a little more. While the veggies cook pour a bunch of the wasabi dipped dried sweet peas in a plastic ziplock and give them a good crush (I used a meat tenderizer but you can use anything with force, perhaps the bottom of a pot?). Once crushed to a chunky dust, add the wasabi peas to the snap peas sauteeing. Let it all meld together. Next place your shrimp in the mixture, give them some space to touch the bottom of the pan and get a little sear. On medium/high heat the shrimp will cook in just a couple minutes, so be sure to watch them and give them a flip once you see the first side turning pink. Once the shrimp are flipped let them cook on the raw side and then add a touch more soy sauce and a bit of the soyaki (or any other stir fry sauce you have on hand). Turn the heat down to low and let the flavors simmer and meld together until you are ready to serve.

Wasabi Peas

Crushed wasabi peas

Adding the wasabi peas to the snap peas

Giving it a good stir

Adding the shrimp

Flipping the shrimp and letting them simmer

The potstickers:
I am a sucker for dumplings of all kinds, and potstickers are no doubt in that group. As a kid we always celebrated Chinese New Years in grade school by making potstickers and other asian treats so I knew that if I just looked up some recipe ideas I'd be able to make them on my own, however I really did not feel that creative so I opted for Trader Joe's frozen chicken gyoza dumplings. The package said to just brown the little pockets of Dahliciousnes in hot oil for a few minutes, then add a little water and a lid and let them steam for a few more minutes. Unfortunately my potstickers were a little tricky and low and behold, they stuck to the pot!! HA! But really, they were a little sticky so be careful, I would potentially suggest actually steaming them and then sautéing them (I'll try that next time and let you know how they turn out). They ended up being great, despite missing a tiny bit of their wrapper (not to mention 7 of these bad boys are just 200 calories, not bad!).

Browning in the oil

Voila!

Wasabi Shrimp Close Up

You could easily serve this dish with some brown rice or even some sort of rice noodles to continue the theme. 


Hopefully you all like this suggestion for a way to use shrimp inventively with what you have in your pantry (including snack foods such as wasabi sweet peas!). Come back to check out the rest of the Dahlicious easy dinners I throw together later this week!