Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Asparagus

There is a little story to tell before I get to the Spicy Garlic Shrimp recipe. In mid May, Dick and I took a Leisure Living course called Chinatown Walking Tour and Dim Sum Lunch. The tour guide has been leading this tour for years. I've seen it mentioned in the newspaper food section many times and thought this was the year we would go. The Houston Chinatown area has grown by leaps and bounds and this was a good way to venture away from home and see what was out there! Ocean Palace was out there along with the Hong Kong City Mall. The grounds around the Palace are lovely. Our tour guide ordered for the group. The menu was in English, Chinese and Vietnamese. Everyone in the group had a copy of the menu and we made notes as we ate. It was good, but the highlight of the tour was the Hong Kong City Market. I've never seen (except perhaps in San Francisco) such a wide selection of greens, vegetables and fruits along with lots of crispy duck. We didn't get carried away at the market, but did bring home some fish sauce and garlic chili pepper sauce.

Now for the Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Asparagus recipe. Credit has to go to the Taste of Thai web site. If you like Thai food check it out. They have lots of recipes. I put the fish sauce and garlic chili pepper sauce from the Hong Kong Market to good use in this recipe. It is quick, easy and very tasty. We enjoyed it with a nice cold beer!

SPICY GARLIC SHRIMP WITH ASPARAGUS
Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp garlic chili pepper sauce
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 tsp fish sauce, divided
• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 lb thin asparagus*
• 3 Tbsp oil
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Optional: chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. In a medium size bowl add garlic chili pepper sauce, garlic, sugar, lime juice and 2 teaspoons of the fish sauce. Mix well. Add shrimp and mix until covered with sauce. Set aside to season.
2. Diagonally trim asparagus into one inch pieces. *If thicker asparagus is used, boil in salted water 2-3 minutes. Drain, and immediately cool down in ice water. Drain well.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over a high heat. Add asparagus, remaining teaspoon of fish sauce, and fresh cracked pepper. Stir-fry 3-5 minutes, or until asparagus is tender-crisp.
4. Add shrimp mixture to skillet. Stir-fry until shrimp turns opaque (pink) and sauce is well mixed with ingredients. Serve immediately. If desired, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with hot jasmine rice.
   

Those who know me know I never make a recipe the way it is written and probably don't make it the same way twice! I had some yellow bell pepper left over and some scallions that I added to this dish. Colorful!

As for dim sum, there is a wonderful little hole in the wall near us called Yum Yum Cha (great name) that has wonderful dim sum. With the price of gas, it's nice to stay close to home.