Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Crispy Shrimp with Peanut Sauce

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The effort-to-delicious ratio for this dish is ridiculous. The shrimp are so easy to make, and the peanut sauce just puts them over the top.

Note that you can use just about any type of starch in which to dredge the shrimp. I wanted a shatteringly crisp exterior, so I went with sweet potato starch; it worked perfectly.

What you’ll need for the shrimp

  • 1 pound giant shrimp or prawns—about 10 – 12 per pound, peeled and deveined
  • 1T kosher salt
  • Up to 1 cup sweet potato starch
  • Enough neutral oil for frying

What you’ll need for the peanut sauce

  • 2 cups full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream
  • 0.5 cups curry paste (red is most common, but others work in a pinch)
  • 1 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
  • 0.33 cups palm sugar (light brown sugar works in a pinch)
  • 0.25 cups tamarind concentrate
  • 0.5T fish sauce

What to do for the peanut sauce

Combine the curry paste and 3T of the coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the paste is dissolved. It will give off a wonderful aroma.

Add the chopped peanuts and remaining coconut milk. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in the sugar, tamarind and fish sauce. Turn up the heat to medium-high and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. It can be served hot or at room temperature.

What to do for the shrimp

About an hour before cooking, salt the shrimp and let them sit in a bowl in the refrigerator. This will keep them plump when cooking.

When you’re ready to cook, heat up about 3 inches of neutral oil to 350 degrees F in whatever vessel you’re using.

When the oil reaches temperature, in turn, dredge each shrimp in the starch by the tail, shake off the extra starch and put them on a plate. Maybe dredge at a time enough for a batch—5 or 6?

Carefully lower each shrimp into the oil by the tail and let them cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Don’t crowd the oil. The shrimp will turn pink and curl up when done—it doesn’t take long at that temperature. Remove the shrimp with a metal spider and let them drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. When they’re all cooked, serve hot with the peanut sauce for dipping.

Marinated and Grilled Chicken Kabobs

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I had never considered making a marinade with tomato paste until I saw a recipe doing just that. The results were outstanding. This is one of those dishes with a great effort-to-deliciousness ratio.

Make sure to really pack the chicken onto the skewers so it doesn’t dry out as it cooks.

What you’ll need

  • 3 oz (0.33 cups) tomato paste
  • 2T vegetable oil
  • 2T fish sauce
  • 1T palm or brown sugar
  • 0.75t liquid smoke
  • 0.25t white pepper
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into kabob-size pieces
  • Skewers (metal or bamboo—bamboo skewers need to be soaked at least an hour before use. You can cover the exposed ends with foil to prevent burning.)

What to do

Mix the tomato paste, oil, fish sauce, sugar, liquid smoke and white pepper in a bowl large enough to accommodate the chicken. Mix in the chicken, ensuring that each piece of chicken is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours—the longer, the better.

When you’re ready to cook, fire up your grill or broiler to whatever settings you use for charring meat. If using a grill, clean and oil the grates. If using a broiler, put grill racks in a sheet pan covered with foil and spray the racks with cooking spray.

While your grill or broiler is heating, thread the chicken onto the skewers so there’s no space between the chicken pieces on the skewers.

Cook the chicken until browned and slightly charred on the heat side—about 8 or so minutes.  Carefully turn over each skewer with tongs and let them cook for about 8 more minutes, until the heat side is equally charred.

Serve hot.

Hiyashi Chuka (Cold Ramen) 冷やし中華

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It’s nice to have a cool meal that’s easy to make in the heat of the summer, and hiyashi chuka is just that: cold ramen with a cold sauce. Literally translated to “cold Chinese noodles,” it’s also sometimes referred to as Japanese cold ramen salad.

A Japanese restaurant reportedly developed it in 1937. Why? Most of Japan gets really hot and humid in the summer, causing sales of traditional ramen to drop during hot season. Enter, the cold ramen option, and sales begin to rise. Like just about everything, it’s all about the money.

There are a variety of toppings you can add to this dish. I’ll present some here, but if you look online, you can find a lot more options. For example, I used the traditional tomatoes and cucumbers but added non-traditional bacon, which goes well with the noodles and sauce. Other traditional options include egg, strips of ham, small shrimp or surimi. Foods with a variety of colors will deliver a nice presentation, such as green onions, strips of nori, beni shoga or even strips of yellow, red or green onions.

Some people bury the noodles under many toppings, and that’s up to individual tastes. I prefer the noodles and sauce to be the stars of the show, so I go lighter on the toppings. However you make it, I’m sure it will be delicious.

What you’ll need for the noodles

  • Per-serving: 4 oz dried ramen noodles or equivalent of fresh Asian wheat or ramen noodles, cooked and rinsed in cold water
  • Your chosen toppings, sliced and ready to use
  • A portion of the cold ramen sauce
  • Sesame seeds (optional topping)

What you’ll need for the sauce

  • 4T (0.25 cups) soy sauce
  • 3T unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2T stock or broth (or substitute water)
  • 1.5T sugar
  • 1T water
  • 1T mirin or sake
  • 1t sesame oil (don’t omit, it’s key to the flavor)
  • 0.75t grated ginger
  • 0.5t ra-yu (Japanese hot oil) or another chili oil (optional)

What to do for the sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, ensuring the sugar completely dissolves. Immediately put in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

What to do for the noodles

Presuming you’ve cooked, drained and rinsed the noodles with cold water, add a serving of noodles to a shallow bowl or a small plate with edges. Arrange the toppings in sections over the noodles, then pour a portion of the sauce evenly across the noodles in a spiral motion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using, and serve cold.