Spicy Sesame Shrimp with Quinoa

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything here. I could give a thousand excuses but I'll spare you and just share tonight's creation. It all started by staring at a half pound of sugar snap peas and a half bag of spinach wondering what I could do with them since they were about to go bad. Realizing I hadn't had the forethought to thaw a protein today, I thought I'd go with shrimp since they are quick and easy to quick thaw. With shrimp and sugar snaps I was Asian inspired and here's where I went with it. It's quinoa with edamame, garlic and ginger sugar snap peas and spicy sesame shrimp.  It's a perfect dinner for two on the table in less than 30 minutes




Quinoa with Edamame

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup edamame, frozen

Bring quinoa and stock to a rapid boil on high. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover for 7 minutes. Add edamame, cover and return to low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered for five additional minutes.

Spinach and Sugar Snap Peas

1/2 lb sugar snap peas
4 ounces spinach, tough stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2" ginger, finely grated
1/2 Tbsp oil

Place sugar snap peas in a gallon zip-lock bag with 1 Tbsp water and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Combine oil, garlic, ginger and spinach in a sauté pan on medium heat, tossing frequently until spinach is wilted. Add cooked sugar snap peas and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spicy Shrimp

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2" ginger, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp Asian hot sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)
1/2 Tbsp oil
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Combine first five ingredients in a bowl. Add shrimp and marinate for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and marinade to a small sauté pan and cook over medium high heat, turning the shrimp until done, approximately five minutes. Remove shrimp and continue cooking sauce until reduced by half and thick.

To serve:

Mound quinoa on a medium sized plate, add spinach and peas then top with shrimp. Drizzle with reduced sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and soy sauce.