Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 to 3 Thai chiles, seeds in or out
1 (½-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and roughly chopped (2 teaspoons)
1 shallot, halved and roughly chopped
Leaves from 4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bunch fresh cilantro, trimmed and roughly chopped (2 cups)
1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped (¾ cup)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 limes (1 zested and juiced and 1 cut in wedges, for serving)
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or light brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon white miso
Salt and white pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons safflower, canola or grapeseed oil, plus more for brushing the pan
Salt and white pepper, to taste
1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp, tails on or off
Steamed jasmine rice, for serving
Directions
1
In a food processor, pulse together the garlic, chiles, ginger, shallot and thyme leaves for about 1 minute, and move to a medium bowl. Add the cilantro, mint and scallions to the food processor and pulse, scraping down the sides once, until the herbs resemble confetti, 2 minutes. Transfer the chopped herbs to the same bowl. Toss to combine, and stir in the lime zest and juice.
2
The coconut sugar goes in next, dissolving slowly as you stir, softening the edges of the heat. Fish sauce follows, deep and savory, anchoring everything so it doesn’t float away. The white miso folds in quietly, almost disappearing, but changing everything it touches. Taste it: not once, twice, maybe three times. It should hit you in waves: first, bright citrus, then heat, then something deeper that makes you pause for half a second longer than expected. Adjust by seasoning lightly with salt and pepper until it feels alive. This is your shimi sauce. Set it aside for now.
3
Now, the shrimp: In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.
4
Heat a large (10- to 12-inch) cast-iron pan or a large griddle pan over high. Get the pan hot enough that you hesitate for a second before committing, but do it anyway, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a paper towel dipped in oil to lightly grease the pan. The oil will shimmer and begin to smoke lightly. (Alternatively, heat a grill to medium-high. Lightly grease the grates using a paper towel dipped in oil.)
5
Lay the shrimp in the pan in a single layer and let them sear without moving. The edges should char just enough to remind you that fire is part of the story here, about 4 minutes. Flip quickly and allow to sear on the heat for 1 minute more. Pull them from the hot pan and lay them into the bowl with the shimi sauce. (The heat will carry over for perfectly cooked shrimp.) Work in batches for this step if your pan is small.
6
Now, toss the warm shrimp in the shimi sauce. Watch it cling, slide and pool into every ridge and curve, about 2 minutes. The herbs will soften slightly in the heat, releasing their oils into the sauce like they’ve been waiting for it.
7
Serve immediately while hot, with warm jasmine rice and lime wedges for squeezing.
Description
One of the chef Lay Alston’s signature recipes, which she calls shimi sauce, is an herb-forward blend modeled after chimichurri with a few twists of her own — bird’s-eye chiles for a spicy kick, a dab of miso and coconut sugar to lend mild sweetness, and fish sauce to add a savory depth. The confetti-like sauce holds together well and is loosened with lime juice for a pop of acidity. The sauce lovingly coats shrimp here, but can go over any seafood, meat or vegetable. Ms. Alston often serves the dish at her pop-up dining series Yaya’s Crib, which she hosts out of kitchen spaces in San Diego, with a mission to create accessible culinary spaces for herself and her guests. She recommends taking your time when charring the shrimp and her words sound like poetry: “The pan hisses when the shrimp hit the pan … and for a moment the kitchen fills with that clean, briny scent of the ocean meeting heat. You don’t rush this part. You let the shrimp tell you when they’re ready.” Ms. Alston recommends serving the shrimp “with warm jasmine rice and a summer salad: charred corn, juicy tomatoes and ripe mango that tastes like sunshine that stayed a little longer than expected.”
Featured in: The Chef Imagining a More Accessible World, One Meal at a Time