Smoke That Shrimp

Although I love the idea of smoking foods at home, the last thing I need is another appliance in my kitchen. Pan-smoking is a great solution because it requires no special equipment.

Simply line a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet with aluminum foil, then scatter wood chips in a single layer over the foil. Use a hardwood such as hickory, cherry or mesquite. Place a small rack in the skillet, cover the entire setup tightly with aluminum foil and place over medium heat. Be sure to turn on the exhaust fan to help disperse the smoke. When you see light billows of smoke escaping after about 10 minutes, add the item to be smoked and replace the foil.

Seafood is a good choice for the harried cook because it takes on a wonderful smoky flavor in just a few minutes, then needs only a quick saute to finish cooking. In this dish, the orange juice provides a delicate counterpoint to the lightly smoked shrimp.

Pan-Smoked Shrimp With Orange Sauce

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Soak wooden skewers in water before using.

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 ounces snow peas (1 1/2 cups), strings removed

Salt

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup orange juice

1 head baby bok choy, sliced 1/2-inch thick diagonally

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 to 2 teaspoons water

Pepper

Cooked white rice

* Assemble smoker with 1 cup hardwood chips. Place over medium heat.

* Thread 4 shrimp on set of 2 parallel skewers so shrimp are stretched flat. Repeat with remaining shrimp, so that you have 3 sets of skewers.

* When wood chips begin to smoke, about 10 minutes, lay skewers on rack and recover tightly with foil. If smoker is smoking too forcefully, reduce heat. Smoke until shrimp have light tan hue, 4 minutes, then remove from smoker. Remove shrimp from skewers.

* Blanch snow peas in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Plunge in ice water to stop cooking and set color, then drain well on paper towels.

* Bring butter and orange juice to boil in skillet over medium-high heat, 1 minute. Add snow peas, bok choy, green onion and broth. Saute until snow peas are almost tender, about 2 minutes.

* Mix cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve and add to skillet, along with shrimp. Cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp is opaque and sauce thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over white rice.

2 servings. Each serving, without rice: 243 calories; 637 mg sodium; 95 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams protein; 2.89 grams fiber.

Menu

Pan-Smoked Shrimp With Orange Sauce

White Rice

Game Plan

30 minutes before: Bring water to boil for rice and snow peas. Soak skewers. Set up smoker. Peel and devein shrimp.

25 minutes before: Cook rice. Thread shrimp on skewers. Remove strings from snow peas, chop bok choy and slice green onion.

15 minutes before: Smoke shrimp. Blanch snow peas.

5 minutes before: Make orange sauce. Remove rice from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Just before serving: Fluff rice with fork; top each serving with 6 shrimp, vegetables and sauce.

Ingredients

Shopping List

Baby bok choy

Green onion

Wood chips

Shrimp

Snow peas

Oranges or orange juice

Staples

Butter

Chicken or vegetable broth

Cornstarch

White rice