The cat around the house with a fork again the other day and then I suddenly realized something. We have not featured a 5 Chile pepper heat factor rated recipe on CCF in a long long time. I’ll get that cat later but for now I need to get to work.
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We are talking spicy here. Hot heat with a bite. Salty, sweet and vinegary sour kind of heat. I call this dish Firecracker Habanero Shrimp and let me tell you it earns the moniker Firecracker for sure. This shrimp recipe is a version of a Parsi dish known as jhinga patio which I have no idea how that translates. Normally you would want to use jumbo or the largest shrimp you can get, but all I had where medium sized shrimp. Probably doesn’t matter much it’s just that the smaller shrimp tend to be a little tougher in texture.
I love cooking with habaneros. While they make this dish quite hot, the heat does not linger around as much as say jalapenos or serranos might. Plus habaneros are predictable. The level of heat doesn’t vary much from pepper to pepper. Not in any way like jalapenos where you have to taste the pepper first to gauge whether it can start a fire on its own or it’s just a dud. Get the milk ready! Here kitty kitty.
INGREDIENTS
for the marinade
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sea salt or 2 teaspoons of table salt
- 1 1/2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and Devinne
for the shrimp preparation
- the marinated shrimp from above
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 habanero peppers, sliced thin
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or 1 teaspoon of table salt
PREPARATION
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and add to a large freezer bag along with the shrimp and marinate the shrimp for 30 minutes at room temperature.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and cook for about 4 – 5 minutes. Then add the mustard, sugar, ginger, salt and cilantro and cook for another 4 – 5 minutes. Add the habaneros and cook for 1 – 2 minutes more. Finally transfer the shrimp from the marinade to the skillet, while pouring about 1/4 cup of the marinade in as well and cook until the shrimp are just firm about 8- 10 minutes or less if you have smaller shrimp.
Sprinkle the lemon juice over the shrimp and veggie mixture and serve. Garnish with more cilantro. Or can allow the shrimp to steep (off of the stove) in the juices and come to room temperature for even spicier results.
