HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE (if you celebrate)!

I have been loving coconut rice and shrimp for a long time. In fact, I eat both so often that I should have turned into one or the other by now. But that’s how it is with all the food we love, isn’t it?

Rice is a staple for a lot of cultures, and shrimp is only a staple if you come from a place that’s by the water (am I right? I think so!). Whenever I have rice it’s white rice, and whenever I have shrimp it’s with something else. I know one benefit of white rice (it tastes good) but brown rice is better for you. Brown rice is high in magnesium (which is good for your heart), it’s gluten-free, it has B vitamins, iron, fibre, fatty acids…it’s good.

Of course, if you’re a vegan, or if you just hate shrimp, you could just cook the rice and serve it with steamed broccoli and tofu or black and white beans. I think I might make it that way next time.

I love making my own spice mixes and seeing where they take me with food (Note: there will be a post on my favourite spices and how I use them later). I went easy on this one, choosing to pick spices which I felt would mix well with the coconut flavouring of this dish.

I really like how this recipe turned out. I think using coconut water and coconut milk and coconut oil really made a difference in this dish. Of course, if you can’t find coconut oil, no matter how hard you searched, then just use a good oil that works well in a sautée pan with butter or margarine. I would recommend checking out Well.ca & Silkroadspices.ca in Canada for coconut products and spices, or Nuts.com in the U.S for both. No, this post is not sponsored. I just troll the internet looking for websites which sell the stuff I’m after (all the time). But uh, I wouldn’t say no if they offered me free stuff.

Onto the recipe!

Ingredients:

Spices

2 TBSP Paprika

1 TBSP Dried garlic powder

4 TBSP Dried onion powder

1 TBSP Italian seasoning + more for shrimp

Sea Salt, to taste ( I like 1 TBSP for this recipe for the rice and 1/2 teaspoon for the shrimp)

2 TBSP Black Pepper

Grains, Proteins, & Veg

2 cups of Long Grain Brown Rice

14-16 medium sized shrimps

Liquids & Solids

2 TBSP unsalted butter

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP coconut oil

2 cups Coconut Water

1/2 cup Coconut Milk

1 1/2 cup Vegetable Broth

Items needed

1 Sautee pan

1 medium-sized pot (for the rice)

Directions:

Rice:

In your medium-sized pot, add the butter, coconut water, coconut milk, coconut oil, vegetable broth, and the spices ( 1/2 TBSP dried garlic powder, 2 TBSP dried onion powder, 1/2 TBSP Italian seasoning, 1 TBSP Sea Salt, and 1 TBSP Black Pepper) to the measured-out rice. Stir. Let it come to a boil (uncovered), stirring a few times as it cooks. Once it’s at a boil, cover, and reduce to the lowest heat, and let it cook for 50-55 minutes. If after 55 minutes the rice is not tender, recover the rice and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s tender and the water is fully absorbed. Once it’s done cooking set it aside.

Shrimp:

This won’t take long (as shrimp can get rubbery and dried out if it’s overcooked). In a sauté pan add 2 TBSP of butter, 1 TBSP of olive oil, 1 TBSP of onion powder, 1/2 TBSP garlic powder, and 1/2 TBSP Italian seasoning to the pan. stir until the pan is fragrant and coated with spices and butter and oil (yum!) about 2 minutes. Throw in your shrimp and sauté for approximately 3 minutes on each side (as that’s all the time you need for them to cook through). As soon as they turn pink it’s a wrap – they’re done!

Distribute and serve!

Please let me know if you try this recipe (as I would love to know what you think)!

Adaora