The Theme Today Is ... Coconut. Part Un.

Oh my goodness gracious.
 I made a delicious meal tonight.
My kitchen is cleaned up.
The leftovers (Yay!) are put away.
 And I'm very excited to share this with you.

 Unfortunately, I probably won't be able
to upload all the pictures and comments until tomorrow.
 But, just know - it'll be worth the wait.
The meal ... and dessert
 (which you know I usually don't do)
 were fantastic.
Hope you like coconut.

 Now, for some background information:
 Every late summer/early fall,
 Mr. Hawthorne and I buy about 50 pounds or more
of heads-on shrimp for anywhere from $2.75 to $4.25 a pound.
We de-head them and size them -
small, medium, and large -
 then freeze in individually labeled bags
 and enjoy the bounty the rest of the year.

As summer wraps up, the shrimp get larger
 and that's why we buy at this time.
 The only problem is if a hurricane comes our way.
 The shrimp are caught in the estuaries along the coastal plain.
 Any abnormal tide changes -
 nor'easters, nor'westers, tropical storms, or hurricanes -
wash these critters out into the ocean so you can't catch them.
 The longer the shrimp are allowed
to stay in these safe havens during the summertime,
 the bigger they get.

 If you notice, there are two tropical storms
 out in the Caribbean right now.
We're just trying to stay on the safe side by buying now.
We bought 15 pounds of heads-on shrimp today.
 It's a wait-and-see situation.
 We can wait, and they'll get bigger.
Or, a hurricane may blow through
and screw the whole thing up.
  Mother Nature can be such a Mother.

 Anyways, I'm trying to use up last summer's catch of shrimp.
We only have a few more bags left in the freezer,
so tonight's dinner features SHRIMP.
 I had used coconut milk earlier for another dish
 (to be blogged later)
 and had a bit of the milk left over.
Also, I went to FoodLion today to get a few items -
 OK, an even $121.00 worth of items.
 I was in the "International" section
 and noticed Thai green and red curry pastes.
 I've never had these pastes before.
 And I'm thinking, in Indian and Thai cuisine,
 they talk of curry, but it's not what you think.
 It's not curry powder.
 Their curries are a combination of ingredients.
 And curry powder ain't in the mix.

 Well, the little wheels are a'turnin'
 in my head and I'm figurin' on a Thai meal tonight.
 Sounds like a plan.
 Not to worry that I've never done Thai before.

So here goes.
And mind you, I'm making this up as I go along.

Top chopping board:
 Basil Cilantro Parsley
 Red pepper
 Onion
 Pineapple
 Red Curry Paste

 Coconut milk
 Lime juice
 Garlic
Brown sugar
 Green pepper from the garden
 Ginger

 Bottom chopping board:
Baby bella mushrooms
 Frozen green peas

Here's the top chopping board closer up so you can see all the goodness.

I julienned the peppers,
 sliced the onions,
 chopped the parsley and cilantro,
 chiffonaded the basil,
and squeezed the juice out of the ginger and garlic,
then minced the leftover garlic and ginger.

I chopped my pineapple
 and poured the pineapple juice into my lime juice.

Here are my sliced baby bellas and my frozen peas.
 DO NOT EVER, EVER USE CANNED PEAS.
 If you do, I will hurt you.

Now, I know this post seems to be rambling,
 but I'm actually posting everything in the order I did it.
 Here, I'm cutting down the back of the shell of the shrimp.
 This actually deveins the shrimp and allows me to easily peel it.

And here's my shrimp, ready to cook.

Now, I've moved everything next to my cook area.
Oh, and that extra bowl over there
 between the greenery is toasted coconut.

My wok is ready.
And I have a sauce pan for my coconut milk and red curry paste,
and another pan ready for my rice.
 Plus, all my ingredients are at the ready.
Preparation is everything.
 You don't want to start cooking, then think -
 "Oh, I forgot the such-and-such."
 Cooking should flow.
 From one ingredient to the next.
 An uninterrupted dance.
 You want everything right at your finger tips.
 Ready to go.

First, I heated up the can of coconut milk
and added about 3 tablespoons of the red curry paste.
 Simmered for about 15 minutes.
 In case you're wondering,
 red curry paste is a Thai ingredient
and consists of red chili, garlic, lemongrass, galangal (Thai ginger),
 salt, onion, Kafir lime, coriander, and pepper.

Next, I started my rice.
 1 1/3 cups water, 1/2 cup white rice, salt, butter.

Oooh, back to the coconut, red curry paste sauce.
 Pretty color.
 Up next, Wosie Woks.

First, I sauteed the sliced mushrooms.

Then, I added in the green and red peppers and the onions.

Toss a bit.

Add in the brown sugar.

Then the garlic/ginger juice and bits.

I dissolved about 2 TB of cornstarch in 3-4 TB COLD water
and poured that into the coconut milk/red curry paste mixture.

Next, I poured my lime juice and pineapple juice into the wok.

Then the thickened coconut milk/red curry paste mixture goes in.

Finally, the shrimp gets added to the pot.

Just heat through.

Pineapple chunks get added.

It's heated just until shrimp is done.
 Maybe 3 minutes at most.

I decided to add a bit more heat.
Here, I've chopped a red jalapeno from the garden.

Lastly, my peas go in.

Plate with rice and shrimp mixture.

Top with chopped parsley and cilantro,
 chiffonaded basil, sliced jalapenos, and toasted coconut.

I can't begin to describe how good this was.
 But I'll try.
The shrimp was perfection.
 Delicate, tender, moist.
 The coconut milk/red curry paste
 was excellent with the shrimp -
 just a flavor combination I've never had before.
 The jalapeno added a bit of needed heat.
 The pineapple helped to cool the heat,
 at the same time giving an extra boost of flavor.
The cilantro and basil were lovely accents
to the rest of the flavors.
 And the rice is just nice in the background
 to sop up all the other flavors.
 Oh my.
 This was just damn good.
 Even Mr. Hawthorne called it a keeper.
 So many flavors that just kind of exploded in your mouth.
 And flavors that I'm not normally used to.
 It's a winner.