Perhaps redundant...

...but we made Spicy Thai Shrimp Kebabs with Chile Lemongrass dipping sauce last night, taken from Fine Cooking magazine, June 2005. I still have the tube of minced lemongrass and I want to use it up before it expires end of the month.

So...more Thai please!

The two dishes, the soup and now the shrimp, had a lot of overlap in ingredients: ginger, lemongrass, chills, fish sauce, cilantro. And yet, the shrimp were enormously better than the soup.

I'll warn you this recipe is tedious. Lots of ingredients and chopping between the grilling sauce and the dipping sauce. It took both of us 2 hours before we ate. (Granted, that 2 hours included cooking artichokes, making sangria and throwing dessert in the oven.)

But it was worth it for a special meal. The shrimp had so many flavors between the grilling and dipping sauce - I thought it would be overwhelming and you wouldn't taste one flavor from the next. But no. It was extremely bold, but balanced. Amazing really. Zingy, zesty, spicy, pungent, fishy - fantastic.

Unless you're an eggplant fan, which we aren't, I don't recommend the grilled eggplant on the side. Whatever side you choose, make it a strong one. Our poor artichoke was weak in flavor by the end; our mouth became desensitized from the strong shrimp. The sangria paring was good.

I experimented with Merlot Blackberry Arbor Mist, which has fruit and sweet built in. Add a cup of OJ, 1/2 C of brandy, 1/2 C orange liqueur and top with fruit for looks. If you want to add complexity, let the fruit sit overnight, strain out the next day and serve with fresh fruit.

To cut corners, I recommend a good quality pre-minced lemongrass and even ginger; we like "The Ginger People" minced ginger. Taste and smell it - it should be close to the real thing or it's not worth using. And for Heaven's sake, get peeled, deveined shrimp!

Spicy Thai Shrimp with Chile Lemongrass Dipping Sauce, Fine Cooking June 2005
Rating: excellent