I went a whole year without buying shrimp in the grocery store, even though I used to eat it at least once a week. I had two bad experiences with the frozen shrimp here and I was done. Bad fish is bad news. I was convinced that because Switzerland is landlocked, they must not be able to get good shrimp. Turns out you just have to find the right brand of shrimp, at the right store, shipped from the lovely country of Ecuador.
Now that shrimp, Switzerland, and I are good again, I read this book that’s making me feel a little bit guilty about my new shrimp buying ways. It’s called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and it’s a memoir of her family’s year of living off of only local and organic products. The idea is that eating organic and in season is good for the earth and our bodies, and buying local cuts down on the energy and fuel it takes to transport food. She has this awesome garden and grows most everything they eat, including the meat! It is really inspiring and I would love to do it…in theory. But then I think of the list of things I wouldn’t be able to have and I get less motivated. No chocolate?!
The whole family chooses one thing that can be their “cheat” food for the year, like coffee, dried fruit, and certain spices. I know what I would choose! Though it is a tough decision, because tropical fruits in the summer, like mangoes, are high on my want list. And shrimp is now back into the weekly rotation. And combining the two in this mango shrimp salad is pretty delicious.
Let’s just throw the locavore guilt out the window for a minute and pretend we live someplace tropical, where mangoes and cacao grow, and shrimp swim in the water nearby, OK? OK.
While warming up that frozen shrimp, start piling the salad fixins’ in.
Shredded carrots, cabbbage, spring onions, and mango.
Throw on the shrimp and sauce, and start planning that beach trip to South America or Asia…
…so we can enjoy this like a real locavore.
- 1.5 cups // 150 grams frozen cooked shrimp
- 1 tablespoon ghee (or butter if not dairy-free)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups // 135 grams shredded carrots
- 2 cups // 180 grams shredded cabbage
- 4 spring onions, chopped
- 1 mango, diced
- 1/2 cup // 75 grams chopped peanuts
- handful of cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (sambal oelek)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- In a medium pan, melt the ghee. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the ginger and cook for one minute more. Add the shrimp, cover, and cook until heated through.
- In a large bowl, add all the salad ingredients, except the peanuts. In a small bowl, stir the sauce ingredients together. When ready to eat, mix the salad with the sauce and shrimp, including the liquid leftover in the pan. Serve with chopped peanuts and cilantro on top.
- To reduce time, you can buy a bag of pre-shredded carrots and cabbage.
5 Responses
i gave a copy to my neighbor
Roni, she is a great cook sounds good hope she invites me for dinner! xoxo
oh good! this one is simple enough for you to handle too, gram 🙂 you can invite her for dinner!
Love this! I’m a huge shrimp lover and if I had to go a year without it I’d probably be in withdrawal! I love the combination of shrimp and mango and this salad just looks so perfectly refreshing!
it was a long year! i would just order it anytime we were traveling. but so glad it’s back in the rotation!
I just made this and it was delicious!