Spicy Salt And Pepper Shrimp - Home Cooked Recipe 12

I received a wonderful gift for my birthday.  My friends Candi and Gary got me a cookbook from the Williams-Sonoma line of books titled Food Made Fast.  The particular book they gifted me was the Asian one in the Food Made Fast line.  First of all, the book is my favorite color (blue), so that alone was a treat.  I always read cookbooks cover to cover, and this one was no exception.  It contains many recipes, and they are all done in 15, 20, or 30 minutes.  There are great pictures, and easy-to-follow recipes.  They have several other books in the Food Made Fast line that I hope to get one day. 
I had some shrimp on hand, so I decided to look for Asian recipes that had shrimp in them.  I didn't think I'd ever had salt and pepper shrimp, and the recipe for Spicy Salt And Pepper Shrimp sounded good.  This recipe comes directly from their cookbook. 

Spicy Salt-And-Pepper Shrimp

1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp five spice powder (I use Hokan, easily available in your local supermarket)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 tbs corn or peanut oil (I use vegetable oil, which I always have on hand)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 and 1/2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2tbs ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (I did not have a jalapeno so I used some shichimi)
2 tbs mirin

Make the spice mixture
Combine the sugar, five spice, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Set aside.

Sear the shrimp
Warm a wok over high heat until very hot then pour in 2 tbs oil.
Meanwhile, spread the cornstarch on a plate.  Quickly pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and dip in the cornstarch, coating both sides and shaking off the excess.  Add the shrimp to the wok in a single layer and sear, turning once, just until opaque throughout, about 1 minute per side.  Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.

Finish the dish
Return the wok to high heat and pour in the remaining 2 Tbs. oil. Add the ginger, garlic and chili and stir-fry until fragrant, about 5 seconds. Add the spice mixture and mirin, quickly return the shrimp to the wok, and stir-fry until the shrimp are coated with the spice mixture and are heated through, 15 to 20 seconds. Transfer the shrimp to a platter and serve with the dipping sauce (see note above). Serves 4. 

Enjoy!

Additional Pictures From The Korean BBQ Taco Box

My Taco Box food in it's smiley face bag

Beef (bulgogi) taco box

Taco adorned by fried cheese, fried tofu, and egg omelet roll

Chicken wing and salad

Menu with pictures

Menu

Parked at Colonial and Alafaya (Box II)

Food Truck Adventures 3 - Korean BBQ Taco Box

***A quick note, on Thurs 9/15/11 the Korean BBQ Taco Box will appear on Fox 35 News in Orlando during the 8am show.  Check them out!
It sounds completely bizarre.  Korean food, BBQ, and tacos all mashed together?  Crazy sounding but absolutely delicious, as I found out when I visited the Korean BBQ Taco Box II when it was parked at the corner of Alafaya and Colonial one Friday afternoon. 

This truck is unique not only because of it's culinary exploits, but also because there are FOUR of these trucks. Most of the food trucks I've noticed are 1 truck.  However, as they get more ambitious, and more popular, the Korean BBQ truck expands it's number of trucks.  This is great for a few reasons.  They serve they same food, so you're getting the same product.  But there are different chefs on each truck, so it's interesting to see if there's a difference in the quality of food.  This also means the trucks can be in different locations at the same time, and that's wonderful for people who are spread throughout Orlando, but want a fix of their favorite food truck.  Another advantage to the multiple trucks is that they can be at a Food Truck event, such as the Oviedo Food Truck Bazaar, yet still serve customers who can't make it to the event in other locations.

Now let's talk about the FOOD!
The menu has so many items it could make your head spin.  There are short ribs (galbi), beef (bulgogi), pork and chicken.  You can get the meats in a box with rice, they can be subs, or you can get the meats in tacos.  There are appetizers such as fried cheese rolls, or chicken wings.  The menu comes with pictures, so you can see what your pick will look like. Also, the menu has good descriptions, which is important when deciding what to pick. 
I'm a big beef fan, so I knew that was going to be my meat of choice.  There beef is labeled bulgogi.  Bulgogi means "fire meat" in Korean.  This does not mean it's spicy necessarily, it just means that it's cooked over a flame.  While I think in this instance the beef is cooked on a flat top, it's marinated in a traditional Korean style that has a lot of flavor.
And I was at the Korean BBQ Taco Box, so I chose to have my meat in a taco.  The taco was a large flour tortilla filled with the bulgogi (beef) and lettuce.  My box also included a 2 fried cheese rolls, salad with ginger dressing, a chicken wing, fried tofu, and an egg omelet roll.  The salad was standard, just some iceberg lettuce with a ginger dressing, similar to what you get at a Japanese steakhouse.  The chicken wing had a delicious coating and sauce.  It was sweet and spicy at the same time.  You could see the flakes of red pepper, which definitely indicates some kind of heat involved.  The tofu was breaded and fried, and was topped with a yummy teriyaki sauce .The fried cheese rolls were interesting (and tasty!), and topped with a special sauce.  I wish I could describe the sauce better, but it was creamy and nicely spiced. 
Now about my taco.  The meat was delectable!  Tender, great flavor, a little saucy.  In retrospect, I should have just gotten the beef with the rice, because I really am not a huge fan of flour tortillas and I definitely do not like warm lettuce.  Warm lettuce is one of my pet peeves, and I usually order my tacos and sandwiches without it.  That being said, I would absolutely get the beef again. 
If you're not a beef fan, you can also have galbi, which is marinated pork short ribs, or you could go for their spicy pork.  If you're a chicken fan, you can get it in the forms of their spicy wings, chicken teriyaki (but only if you order the rice box version), or in the taco and sub it's marinated pieces of chicken thigh. 
The prices at the Korean BBQ Taco Box were some of the best I've seen from the food trucks.  All the food I purchased was only $5.99.  And it was a lot of food!  All the items on their menu are either $5.99 or $6.99, so you really can't go wrong.  If you would like to check out their menu, or see what they're about, visit http://kbbqbox.com.
I will doubtlessly be back to the Korean BBQ Taco Box. The food was good, affordable, and they have several locations they can be found at everyday.  These are hard working people who are making excellent food truck cuisine.  If you're in Orlando, get out there and try them!  They can easily be found on Twitter and Facebook, and they do a great job of updating their Twitter every day with their locations.

Picture View - Homemade Croutons

Bonus Recipe! Homemade Croutons

Who doesn't love croutons?!?  Not many people that I know don't like them.  And I found a much tastier (and much cheaper!) way to have them as opposed to buying them at a supermarket.  They were easy, quick, and got rave reviews from the people I live with them.  Try them today!

Homemade Croutons

1 loaf day-old french bread, cubed
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp granulated garlic
2tbs dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne
Salt & Pepper

Combine all ingredients except bread.  Place bread cubes in a bowl, pour oil mixture on and toss well.  Make sure all cubes are seasoned.  Arrange in a single layer on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet.  Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool, store in an airtight container.  They will last in your pantry for a month.  You can also freeze them for up to 6 months.  Serve with soup or salad, or as a snack.  Enjoy!