Paul Verica of Waxhaw’s new and acclaimed Heritage Food And Drink shares a beautiful, fresh spring recipe with all of QC Exclusive’s readers. Explore the nuances of Vericas North Carolina Shrimp on a bed of forbidden rice served with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, turnips, carrots, and ginger.
INGREDIENTS:
5 fresh shrimp
Sesame oil
1 head of baby bok choy
3 shiitake mushrooms
5 baby turnips
½ cup black forbidden rice
1 cup water
1 pound of carrots
2 tb of peeled ginger root
1 quart of chicken stock
Teriyaki Sauce
Salt & Pepper
METHOD:
Shrimp
Peel and devein the shrimp and lightly coat with sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bok Choy
Trim up the head of baby bok choy and remove any bruised leaves. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Once the water is boiling place the head of bok choy in the pot and cook for 45 seconds and then plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking process then remove from the ice and pat dry and reserve.
Mushrooms
Cut the shiitake mushroom into ¼ and set aside (The best way to cook the shiitake mushrooms is sous vide meaning we place them in a vacuum sealed bag and cook them in a water bath at 185 degrees for 30 minutes).
Turnips
Clean and trim the turnips lightly toss with sesame oil, salt and pepper
Blanche the turnips in the same fashion described above for the bok choy the cooking time will vary depending on the size of the turnips. (Sous vide method cook them for 45 minutes @ 185 degrees.)
Rice
The black forbidden rice is a 2-1 ratio two parts liquid (water, chicken stock, or vegetable broth). Rinse the rice then place in a sauce pan and cover with desired cooking liquid. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook until all of the liquid is gone. Remove the pan from the heat and cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Carrot Puree
Peel the carrots. Mince the ginger root. Cut the carrots into roughly the same shape. Place the carrots and ginger in a sauce pot and cover with the chicken stock. Add some salt and pepper. Cook the carrots until very soft strain and reserve the liquid. Puree the carrots in the food processor adding some of the reserved cooking liquid as needed to achieve a mashed potatoes type consistency. Reserve the cooking liquid for final preparations. Add salt and pepper.
Final Preparation
Heat a sauté pan add a little sesame oil once hot add the shrimp and sauté over high heat until cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and add some of the teriyaki glaze to coat and set the shrimp aside. Heat an additional sauté pan add sesame oil add the turnips, mushrooms and bok choy and then add some of the reserved carrot cooking liquid and glaze the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and arrange on the plate. Arrange the rice on one side of the plate and arrange the shrimp atop the rice.
