When your HOT eat FRESH for Lunch!
Thierry and I spent the morning on Curanta Cridhe checking out more great spots around Peter and Cooper Islands to share with our charter guests. Since we were close to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda we decided to stop at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour Marina. What to have when you’re hot and hungry plus you really don’t want to heat up the galley? Sometimes I take inspiration from what I have on hand and can readily get the few missing items locally. Shrimp (uncooked and deveined), a staple in my freezer, leftover rice from last night’s dinner and a quick sprint to the local grocery just at the end of the dock for some avocados and cucumbers and I’m ready to make Spicy California Shrimp Stacks.
Lunch Menu for Two at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour Marina
- Spicy California Shrimp Stacks with greens tossed in a “maison vinaigrette”
- Sparkling water with a twist of lime
- Chocolate Chocolate Brownie with coconut gelato
TIP: you can make this the day after an evening meal where you have served rice. I always make more rice than needed so that I have cold rice in the fridge for these stacks the next day for lunch. Really shortens the prep time.
SPICY CALIFORNIA SHRIMP STACKS
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups cooked rice (from 1/2 cup uncooked)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 8 ounces cooked shrimp, peeled and tails removed
- 1 cup diced cucumber (about 1 small)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives or green onions
- 1/2 cup mashed avocado (about 1 medium)
- 4 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce or teriyaki sauce
- 4 teaspoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
(I try to use local ingredients wherever possible so I substituted the sriracha sauce with Ginger Hot Sauce made right here in BVI by Sunny Caribbee).
Directions
Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. When rice is done, add rice vinegar and stir. Evenly spread rice on a sheet pan to cool. (Or you can just add the rice vinegar to the leftover rice from the dinner and put it in the fridge to cool for lunch the next day.)
Cut shrimp into 1-inch cubes. In a small bowl, combine cucumber and chives. In another small bowl, combine mayonnaise and sriracha or hot ginger sauce.
Using a 1 cup dry measuring cup, layer ¼ cup cucumber, then 2 tablespoon of avocado, then ¼ of the shrimp, and 1/3 cup rice. Carefully turn the cup upside down to turn the stack out onto a plate, lightly tapping the bottom of the cup if necessary. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and drizzle with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and sriracha mayonnaise. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
TIP: If you think that you are going to use this type of plating technique, it is worth purchasing some different size metal rings from a good cooking store. It is so much easier to make stacks with these then trying to turn a measuring cup upside down and not make a mess. If you do use a ring just reverse the order of the items stacked so everything ends up in the right order!
Bon Appétit!
