Apple Shrimp Jambalaya

Apple Shrimp Jambalaya Jambalaya is regional fare of Louisiana and is a catch all dish and could have been made with smoked pork, chicken, crawfish, polish or andouille sausage, and more green bell pepper than in this recipe. I feel the green bell pepper was a bit too much and stole the whole show, hence it is cut back. The apples in the recipe is also non traditional put perk up the dish with some sweetness. 

1 cup course chopped 

yellow onion 

4 garlic cloves chopped 

1/4 cup chopped sweet green pepper 

1/4 cup finely diced celery

 3 tablespoons minced parsley 

2 Louisiana Hot Link Sausage, chopped 

5 tablespoons butter 

4 apples peeled and cored, chopped 

1/2 teaspoons crumbled leaf thyme 

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 

1 teaspoon of file (optional –see note 1.)

 Sea Salt to taste 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped 

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce 

2 pounds large shrimp, raw, shelled, deveined 

 

Sauté the onion, green pepper, apples and celery in butter until the onions are transparent. Add the garlic, parsley, file, thyme, red pepper, tomatoes, and sausage. Sauté, stirring often, for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce. Simmer uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook 5 minutes until the shrimp are done. Taste the jambalaya and correct the seasonings. Serves over rice. Garnish with diced scallions. Note: 1. File powder is the powdered leaves of the sassafras tree.

Unseasoned Jasmine Rice

 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bring to a boil 3 1/2 cup of unsalted water in an oven safe pot equipped with a tight fitting lid. (If lid does not fit tightly enough, use tin foil as a gasket.)

 Add rice, cover with a lid. Bring back up to a boil on high heat on the stove top. When the pot boils, place covered pot of rice in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Don’t peek the first 30 minutes. (Could be left 10-15 minutes longer if needed.)

Chinese Pork with Mushrooms, Onion, Bok Chou, Water Chestnuts and Bell Peppers

This an amalgamation of Chinese Spices and Flavors, and some of my favorite vegetables. It is really delicious, but uses many ingredients, any one of which may be omitted.

It is served with  unseasoned-jasmine rice,  steamed.

2 1/2 lb. pork shoulder, sliced 3/16” then pounded with a mallet until 1/8th thick

1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine + extra for marinating meat, and splash for mushrooms 

2 tablespoons Chinese Oyster Sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese hoisin sauced

1 tablespoon dark soy

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small thumb of ginger, smashed, then chopped 

2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar

3 tablespoons peanut oil, + more for marinating pork + some for vegetables and mushrooms 

1 large onion, chopped to 1 inch squares.

1 small can water chestnuts, drained

1 tablespoon of honey

1 lb. Sliced Cremini Button Mushrooms 

1 lb. Asst. small bell peppers, chopped and seeded

1 green bell pepper chopped the same as other peppers

6 scallions - green and white section cut to one inch long, green sliced diagonally and held sperately.

2 tablespoons corn starch to which you add equal amount of chicken stock as thickener

1 tablespoon corn starch for marinade

1 teaspoon sugar for cooking mushrooms 

1/2 teaspoon salt for cooking mushrooms 

4 bok choy (optional) if need more green color

In a small bowl, crease a slurry by adding two tablespoons corn starch, adding a  equal amount of chicken stock. Side aside.

In a measuring cup, add soy, hosin sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, black vinegar, and honey. Set aside

Cut up peppers. Use as many colored peppers as you have. Cut the onion to 1 inch squares. Add water chestnuts and then whites of the scallions. Cut the root end of baby boy chou, cut them in half lengthwise. Put these vegetables in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, add sliced mushrooms.

In a small bowl, add ginger and garlic

In a medium bowl, add the cut up pork shoulder. Sprinkle pork with corn starch. Add a small amount of oil and two splashes of Shaoxing wine. Allow to marinate at least 20 minutes.

In a large Teflon skillet, pre heat the pan to when a drop of water dances on the surface. Add 3 tablespoons peanut oil, wait a minute, add over high heat, cook the pork with the garlic and ginger, turning as you go until the meat is cooked. Turn out the contents of the drained pan, retaining just the pork and herbs into a very large bowl.

Drain out the oil. Drop in salt, sugar and the mushrooms. Cook on medium until the mushrooms have taken on color and wet. Pour out over bowl with the meat and mushrooms.

Heat a large wok, until it begins to smoke. Add retained oil from the drained pork. Make sure wok is well coated with oil by swirling or use the wok spoon. Add all the vegetables from their bowl. Stir fry vegetables until onions are done, stir fry contents of wok with wok spoon.

Add the pork and mushrooms. Stir in the liquid contents of measuring cup, coating everything well. Cook another two minutes, the add cornstarch slurry. Cook until thicken. Add sliced scallion-greens and optional chopped cilantro.

Serve over Rice.