Grouchow's Weblog

Mock Oriental Shrimp Recipe for One

Okay, okay, this is a little off the beaten path for this blog.  But I do need to eat and sometimes I’m in a hurry!  I was scratching my head this evening trying to decide what I could do with about a cup and half of angel hair pasta that I had cooked two days prior. 

Then the thought hit me.  Shrimp!  (Food Lion generally has a has a good price on the frozen, cooked, deveined ones.) Hum. How should I fix it so it is something new?  I love shrimp but sometimes we get stuck in a rut and I wanted to get a little creative when I spotted a little bottle of McCormick Garlic Pepper Seasoning Grinder that my kids had purchased one year when they came to visit over the holidays.  (They surprised me by cooking dinner for the family. Awesome, huh?) Anyway, I digress.  Back to the meal for one.

I keep a lot of assorted frozen veggies in the freezer because I can use what I want out of the bag and then re-close the bag and slam the bag back into the freezer.  In this case I decided to use a little cauliflower and a few peas.  You could use any assortment of frozen vegetables you might like.  The shrimp I buy is fully cooked and deveined.

To speed up the meal I use the microwave.  I half thawed the 6 shrimp and the chosen vegetables, it is a small amount so with water added in a small blow I only heated the frozen shrimp for about 1 minute, full power.  The veggies about 2 minutes, full power.   Enough of the back story!  Here is the make shift recipe of a mock oriental shrimp dish for one.

This is what you need and here is what you do.  Takes less than 20-30 minutes to prepare.

Small 5-7 inch frying pan

2 TBS Olive Oil (just enough to coat the bottom of pan)

1/4 tsp dried Parsley

1/8 tsp Celery Seed

4 or 5 twists of the McCormick Garlic Pepper “Grinder”

4 or 5 dashes of Soy Sauce (to taste)

6 Frozen precooked deveined shrimp

1 1/2 cup left over pasta (I used angel hair)

5-6 frozen cauliflower florets

1 tsp frozen peas

Prep: 

First half thaw the 6 shrimp, barely covered in water using small bowl, 1 minute in microwave

Second half thaw the cauliflower combined with peas, barely covered in water using small bowl, 2 minutes in microwave 

Set both bowls aside till needed.

This will be very quick because you are almost done!!

Now place the small fry pan on medium high heat on stove top (number 6 on my electric stove)

Add the olive oil, parsley, celery seed, garlic pepper into pan first

Next drain water and add the half thawed shrimp, flip once to coat in spices, about 30 seconds on each side

Then drain water and add the peas and cauliflower, flip again, same 30 seconds each side

Add the pasta (mine was the angel hair), flip again to coat with all ingredients, 30 seconds each side

Last add your 4 or 5 dashes of soy sauce and flip a couple of times again.

Voila you are done!!  A meal for one that takes less than 20 to 30 minutes.  If you want to do it for more, like two, just double up on the ingredients. 

I wish I would have taken a picture but I was too hungry and I ate it before I thought about taking a picture or making this recipe public.  When I make it again, because it was yummy, I will post a picture.