0 Skewered on lemongrass

The marinade is all that matters. This Vietnamese-inspired marinade is assertive but not overpowering, salty but nicely balanced with a touch of sweetness. It is so good it will knock the feelers of your shrimps (if they were still living!).

This is one of my few times handling fresh shrimps and what a pain it is. First you need to dehead them, followed by peeling and deveining. Removing innards is NOT appealing. In addition to the intestinal tract on the dorsal side, I had also realized there is another vein running on the ventral side - the ventral nerve cord (CNS of the shrimp). Some people may choose to leave that on (saves the deveining time by half), but I don't want to be eating any CNS matter so I removed that too.

For a creative flair, I skewered the seafood onto the remaining lemongrass stalks. (Nothing goes to waste!)

Shrimp and Scallop Lemongrass Skewers

Yield: 4 servings (8 skewers)

Ingredients

16 large shrimps/prawns (~300 g), cleaned

16 scallops (I used frozen), cleaned
Marinade

1 large lemongrass stalk, sliced into 5 cm pieces + 8 more as skewers

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 limes, juiced

2 small birds eye chilies, sliced (I sub-ed with red chili, though not as piquant)

2 tsp grated ginger

1/4 cup fresh coriander (chinese parsley)

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp palm sugar (sub-ed with 3/4 tbsp white sugar)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients for the marinade and process to form a paste.
2. Marinade shrimps and scallops for at least 1 h.
3. Make a cut in the shrimp and scallop and skewer alternately through a lemongrass stalk.
3. Preheat oven to broil setting (or use a grill).
4. Broil for 4 mins each side or until red.

I can't help but rave about this marinade! It was a tad bit salty. Maybe a little less fish sauce next time.