Sriracha Cilantro Shrimp

I overheard a conversation at work the other day, a brother and sister were making plans for dinner and he wanted to know if they had sriracha at home to make sriracha shrimp. I have a major love affair going on with sriracha, I literally put it on everything, except maybe pancakes... I butted into their conversation as I have a tendency to do when food is the topic and asked for more information. That night I went home and did some research and found that this dish has been widely replicated but I wanted to feature it anyway because it was so amazingly good. I created my own recipe using the ideas of others, but basically there are many ways you can make this. Don't like cilantro? Use basil and/or parsley. Don't want to use butter? Use olive oil. I cooked this in a cast iron skillet but if you have a grill you could put them on skewers and the sugar in the marinade will give you a nice caramelization, and lets face it, everything tastes better cooked on a grill.

If you have a sensitivity to spiciness then don't turn away just yet. This dish is not overwhelmingly spicy, the other ingredients and cooking time help to lessen the intensity and it ends up being a mild heat with awesome flavor. I cooked it in plenty of butter which not only helped out with the flavor but tamed the heat as well. I love garlic more than anything so I hooked it up, using 5 cloves which I thought was perfect, but you should make yours according to your preferences.

I made coconut rice to go along side it and it ended up being a perfect pairing. The sweetness of the coconut went along swimmingly with the spiciness of the shrimp and I will be making this again and again and again... I also roasted some broccoli because I can't have a meal without some veggies on my plate. I hope you like!!!

Sriracha Shrimp
Serves 2-3

3 tablespoons butter
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons sriracha
1 lb shrimp, tails on
zest of 1 lemon
juice of half a lemon
4 tablespoons cilantro
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
salt & pepper

Mix everything, except the butter, in a large bowl or gallon size plastic bag and let it marinate for 2-4 hours. Cook in a skillet with the butter for 5-6 minutes. Or grill 4-6 shrimp on a skewer for 2-3 minutes on each side or until done.


Coconut Rice

2 cups jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water

Rinse rice in a medium saucepan 2 times in cool water. Drain.

Combine rice, coconut milk, sugar, salt, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, then cover and reduce heat to low. (Alternatively, cook rice in an electric rice steamer.) Cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 40–45 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork; cover and let sit for 20 minutes.