Gourmet Club Main Course Part 1: Grilled Shrimp with Thai Lime Dipping Sauce

Time for the main course of the main course of the Gourmet Club.

As I had set the theme, “Food on a Stick”, there were a few obvious choices: kabobs, corn dogs and fondue. While fondue had an attraction, I decided to go the route of a churrascaria (Brazilian restaurant). If you have not been to one, waiters walk around the restaurant with large skewers (more like swords) of various grilled and smoked meats and stop at your table to carve a bit on your plate. There is often a large variety of meats and flavors.

I found some three-foot long wooden skewers and planned my menu.

While many people could throw some meat on the grill, I wanted to pair each with its own dipping sauce.

I designed a six course main dish (only five sauces shown above).

The first was giant shrimp with a Thai lime dipping sauce.

I marinated the shrimp in the dipping sauce several hours before grilling. I cleaned out the vein, but left the shell on the shrimp when I put them on the skewer. As I was cooking all of the courses at once, I didn’t want the shrimp to dry out and the shell helped maintain the juiciness of the shrimp.

The sauce was very different. Next time I would reduce the amount of mint as it was very strong.

Thai-Lime Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
• 3 cups bottled lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

Directions:

In a large non-reactive bowl, combine the ingredients and mix.

Source: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai.