Well, long time no blog and it's really good to be back. As many people who read or watch the news know, things have been chaotic around here in Sonoma County. We've been dealing with fires, crazy mad winds, unbreathable air, and PG&E's "public safety " blackouts. In the last few weeks I've learned more about generators and solar power than I ever thought I'd need to know, and I've had to toss newly purchased groceries. I was prepped for the power down with solar chargers, bags of ice in the freezer, batteries etc, but then the air was so bad we felt the best thing was to get out of dodge... and so we did. We decamped to San Francisco for about 6 days. The air there was a bit better.
So now, back home in Sonoma it's once again time to catch up with cooking. Getting back to work again demands some nice and easy workday lunches (or dinners) and this is one of the new stars of my rotation here at home.
JAPANESE EGGPLANT WITH SCALLOPS, SHRIMP, AND COCONUT RICE.
Here's What You Need:
1/2 pound of large shrimp
1/2 pound of large sea scallops
3 and 1/2 Tbs of sesame oil
1/2 lb of Japanese eggplants halve them lengthwise and cut them diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 tsps of sugar
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp chili oil
1 Tbs cilantro chopped
1 Tbs thinly sliced basil leaves
1 cup of frozen peas defrosted
Coconut Rice
1 Can of full fat coconut milk (14 oz)
1 and 1/4 cups water
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups Basmati rice
Here's What To Do:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Halve the eggplants and cut them into slices.
Place them in a bowl and drizzle them with vegetable oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Place them on a rimmed baking sheet skin side up...
...and roast them in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until they are soft
Set them aside.
In a large pot combine the coconut milk, water, sugar, and salt.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add in the rice.
Bring the rice to a boil on medium heat, then cover the pot, turn the heat down to the lowest it will go and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.
Meanwhile, back at the shrimp and scallops....
Pat them dry with a paper towel and season them lightly with salt and pepper.
Put 2 Tbs of sesame oil in a skillet or kadhai.
When the oil is hot add in the scallops and shrimp and sear them.
You may need to do this in batches so there is no crowding. The scallops and shrimp should be just cooked through. This takes about 4 minutes.
When they're cooked, set them aside cover and keep them warm.
Add the water and the soy sauce to the kadhai.
Add in the sugar and chili oil.
Simmer the mixture, and reduce it by half.
Stir in the lime juice.
And the peas.
When they are cooked, put the shrimp, and scallops back in the kadhai.
Add in the roasted eggplant pieces and warm everything up.
When the rice is ready scoop it into bowls and top with the eggplant, scallop, and shrimp mixture.
Top each serving with chopped cilantro and some slivered basil.
Serve it up!
This is one of those no recipe recipes, in other words you can add to this, mushrooms, some more vegetables, other fish...whatever you've got that feels like it belongs there. It doesn't get simpler then this, and that's how I like it. Coming up next, a salad that's a meal, and something sweet! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori