Spicy Does It

As the title of my blog has it, I’m completely addicted to spicy foods – I’m so addicted that I’ve converted my boyfriend and not to mention some of my braver friends to take on the heat. I inherited this spice-craving palette from my mom’s Malaysian roots where nothing is ever spicy enough.  I’ve been to Malaysia once but my family took a trip last month without me so in order to bring myself a little Southeast Asia, I decided to make myself something extra spicy, and this shrimp dish hit the spot!

So my key protein lately has been shrimp (like this)– it seems that I just can’t have enough of these sweet prawns from Whole Foods.  The inspiration for this dish came from my May vacation to Hanoi, Vietnam at a gorgeous riverfront restaurant called Mangos Rooms.  Every dish was infused with the freshest seafood and organic mangos, creating a symphony of flavors that was irresistible.  With every bite I craved more of the sweet, savory, and spicy balance.  There was one dish that I absolutely fell in love with -  the panko-crusted prawns.

So here’s my version using what I have in my kitchen.

Spicy Shrimp Soba Serves 2 in 30 minutes

Ingredients 1 dozen fresh Prawns/ Shrimp 5-7 Fresh Thai Chilies (depends on how spicy you like it), chopped 2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon Salt and pepper 1/4 cup flour 1 large egg 1 cup milk 1/3 cup cold lemon juice 2 cups of vegetable oil Whole wheat Soba noodles 1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Once water comes to boil, add soy sauce and drop noodles in. Cook for 6 minutes. Then, in a separate mixing bowl, combine milk, eggs, lemon juice, and soak prawns in mixture for about 5 minutes (no longer than 10).

At this point, noodles should be done - drain and set aside.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Then in a large skillet, heat oil on medium, adding half of the garlic and Thai chilies. Dredge prawns in flour mixture and drop into oil one at a time. Fry prawns for 3 minutes on each side, adding remaining chilies and garlic between flipping.  Once prawns are finished, serve with noodles and enjoy!