Spicy Grilled Shrimp

This one was a first for me on a few fronts. My first time grilling and my first time deveining shrimp. The grilling part was fun and I hope to explore it further while it is still the appropriate season. The deveining part was tedious but definitely a good learning experience. After a while it was a somewhat meditative process. After hours of prep work, the shrimp cooked really quickly and were delicious. I will definitely be marinating and grilling again soon.

1 1/2 pounds shrimp
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon rind (finely grated)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
6 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Salt
Pepper

Start by shelling and deveining shrimp. This is the time consuming part, but you can buy shrimp that are already cleaned to make this a whole lot easier.

Whisk together the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, chili paste, soy sauce, and tomato paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss the shrimp in the marinade and mix them around to get good coverage. Place in refrigerator and let the shrimp soak in the marinade for about 2 hours.

When ready, heat the grill. Secure shrimp on skewers by poking through each piece twice. Once at the head and once at the tail. Place shrimp on grill. Brush each side with remaining marinade while grilling. Grill for about 4 minutes on each side.

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Ginger Noodles

Recently, I have been making a lot of Asian food. I think the "Foreign Exotic Imports Market" is my favorite shop in Budapest. This recipe came about late one night when a craving for cheap Chinese food hit, and after the many Kínai Gyors Büfé proved their inability to satisfy such needs.

3 Chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1 cup flour
2 eggs (beaten)
Water
1 cup breadcrumbs
Salt
Pepper
Sesame seeds
Ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup Rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon white sugar
5 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 can baby corn
1 box noodles
Vegetable oil
Sesame oil

For chicken:
Start by preparing 3 bowls. The first contains flour, salt, pepper, sesame seeds, and baking soda. The second contains eggs, water, salt, and pepper. And the third contains breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds. Dredge the chicken in flour, then coat them with egg, and then cover in breadcrumb mix. When all chicken pieces are sufficiently breaded, heat some vegetable oil over high heat and fry the pieces for about 3 minutes each or until the outside begins to brown and they are cooked through.

For sauce:
Combine vinegar, brown & white sugars, honey, soy sauce, tomato paste, and salt. Mix well.

For noodles:
Heat sesame oil in wok. Add cooked noodles and stir fry to coat noodles in oil. Add baby corn. Add a splash of soy sauce to the wok. Generously grate fresh ginger over noodles and continue stir frying until everything is hot.

Pour sweet and sour sauce over chicken pieces, or use as a dipping sauce. Serve with noodles and enjoy!

Cold Sesame Peanut Noodles

This is the very first recipe I learned to make all by myself, and, for a while, it was the only recipe I made regularly and with confidence. I still make it all the time, even though it can be a challenge to track down peanut butter in Hungary.

1 box cappellini (or spaghetti) pasta
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Sesame seeds

First heat the water, then whisk it with the peanut butter until they are completely combined. Add soy sauce, sugar, garlic, vinegar,and sesame oil, mix well. Add salt and cayenne to taste.

Set salted and oiled water to boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until done. Drain and rinse in cold water until all the noodles are cold. Pour sauce onto noodles. Mix well. Sprinkle white sesame seeds on top.