This week, I was feeling a little uninspired in terms of ideas for dinner – it felt daunting to come up with recipes before going to the grocery store for the week’s food. My normal process is: look in the pantry and fridge to see what ingredients need to be used up (veggies, etc), make a list of ideas for dinner based on said ingredients, then come up with new ideas to fill out the rest of the week’s menu. From there, I make a grocery list and head to the store.
But I’ll be honest, sometimes my brain needs a break and I feel at a complete loss for what to make. So, when I’m feeling in a slump, I go to the grocery store without a list and wander the aisles. I wander around the fruits and veggies, the boxed foods and sauces, and even the refrigerated frozen food section. Why? Because ideas for meals can be found anywhere – from a vegetable you’ve never tried before to a bottle of sauce with bright, eye-catching packaging. So, next time you’re feeling unmotivated to cook, take the stress off and let yourself be inspired – because this recipe? It was quite literally inspired by a frostbitten box of Scott & Jon’s cilantro lime shrimp that was buried alongside frozen chimichangas in the refrigerated section of Target. True story.
“Cilantro is also known as coriander, Chinese parsley, Indian parsley and sea parsley depending on where you are in the world.”
– Little West
Garlic Shrimp and Cilantro Lime Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 1.25 cup White Rice (I prefer short grain, but long grain is the most popular choice)
- 1.5 cups Water
- 1/2 lb Raw Shrimp (wild-caught, peeled and deveined)
- 2 Limes
- 1/2 can Black Beans
- 1 cup Cilantro (chopped)
- 3 cloves Garlic (chopped)
- 1/8 cup Green Onions
- 4 sprigs Fresh Mint Leaves
- 3 tbsp Vegan Butter
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Aleppo Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Ground Coriander
- Pickled Onions (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Cook rice according to rice cooker instructions, using a 1:1.5 rice-to-water ratio.
- While rice is cooking, peel and devein shrimp (if needed), then rinse and pat dry. Season shrimp in a bowl with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, and Aleppo pepper. Set aside.
- Then, chop cilantro, green onions, garlic, and mint leaves. Set aside.
- When there are about 10 minutes left on your rice, add 1 tbsp butter and 3 cloves garlic to a pan over medium low heat. Sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until most of the pieces turn golden brown and garlic is fragrant.
- Then, add shrimp to pan, keeping all shrimp within one layer (try not to stack them on top of each other). Cook shrimp until the edges start to turn pink, then flip over and cook on the other side until the shrimp is mostly opaque, about 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp, otherwise they will become too chewy. Once the shrimp is cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
- To make cilantro lime butter, add remaining 2 tbsp butter to the same pan that you cooked the shrimp. Once the butter is melted, turn off the heat. Add 1/2 cup cilantro, and using a microplane, zest one lime into the pan. Cut this same lime in half and squeeze the juice into the pan. Stir gently to combine.
- Your rice should be ready by now; remove rice from rice cooker and place into a bowl. Squeeze juice from one lime over rice, then add remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro, along with the green onions, mint, and 1/2 tbsp of your cilantro lime butter. Drain black beans and add about a half of a can to the bowl with the rice. Gently fold rice mixture using slicing motions until well-combined.
- Serve shrimp over rice and drizzle with remaining cilantro lime butter. Top with pickled onions, if desired.
Watch my video on how to make this recipe by clicking here.
