Peri's Lime Garlic Prawns

Hi there Ormond! Here's one of our all-time favorite dishes! I've added an ingredient or two to flesh it out more (that means, to make it more veggie-ish so I can feel like I'm eating healthy). But otherwise it's the same simple recipe we know and love. And yet another example of how sometimes the fewer the ingredients, the better the result.

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 t. olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped (about 4 T.)
1/2 carrot, diced
1/2 celery stalk, diced
1 t. lime zest
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. white wine
1/2 t. salt
2 T. lime juice
1/2 c. cilantro leaves for garnish
brown rice

Diced veggies, and wine + lime juice, staged and ready.

Cooking the shrimp.

PROCEDURE

Saute onion, celery, carrot and jalapeno pepper in the olive oil. Add lime zest. Add shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer to blend flavors. Serve over brown rice.

Adding the rest of the ingredients.

NOTES

I often cook brown rice in chicken stock, especially when I'm making it to serve people other than me. Some folks don't like the nutty flavor of brown rice and the broth helps with that.

Also, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of The Food Lab and seriouseats.com suggests cooking brown rice in lots and lots of water to cut cooking time nearly in half. I tried this and it works. Rather than 50 minutes, you can cook brown rice in 25 minutes if you fill the pot with plenty of water instead of the suggested 2 cups.

Ready to serve.

Perfect Rice Every Time

If you want perfect rice or rice box mix every time, don't cook it on the stove, cook it in the oven.

Heat the oven to 375 deg.

Start the rice as normal in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil following the directions on the box or packet.

Instead of simmering for 25 minutes (typically), put a lid on the pan and put it in the oven for 25 minutes.  The rice can also be put into a casserole or covered baking dish if you are making a lot.  I recently used a big baking dish covered with aluminum foil.  It worked great.