Shrimp Cakes with Apricot Ginger Glaze and Coconut Rice

Of course all that walking around looking at art, crafts, and food made me hungry.  I “taste tested” a few bites of Ranger Craig’s Philly Steak Sandwich and then decided I was still hungry and ended up with smoked salmon on a bagel.  But then I couldn’t leave without a crab cake, and just had to top it all off with ice cream dipped in decadent Boehms dark chocolate.

Now we had to walk home. Up a very long and steep mountain.  I’m in pretty decent shape but after Philly steak sandwich, smoked salmon on a bagel, crab cakes, and a Boehms dark chocolate dipped ice cream… our mountain walk felt like a three-day hike.

On the bright side, hiking back up the mountain gave me time to think.  Time to think about food.

Yes, I think about the next greatest recipe almost every minute of the day.  Ok, I’m embellishing again but I do think about food, a lot.

This time I was thinking about crab cakes.  But I didn’t have crab on hand so I thought shrimp cakes might be a fun and tasty alternative.

I was right. Score again. The Bennett Crew loved the shrimp cakes and told me I should make a double batch the next time.   And I think I need a double batch of the coconut rice. I could eat my weight in coconut rice!

Luckily I had plenty of the Apricot Ginger Glaze on hand.  You know how the Bennett Crew feels about their sauces.  I should have a sign hanging in my kitchen…  “Don’t forget the sauce”.

Shrimp Cakes with Apricot Ginger Glaze and Coconut Rice

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

¾ – 1 lb cooked bay shrimp (also called shrimp meat, baby shrimp, salad shrimp)

1/3 cup chopped green onion/scallions

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 egg, lightly whisked

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (I like a little more)

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or more to taste)

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Finely dice the bay shrimp and mix together with scallions, lemon juice, Dijon, cilantro, ginger, old bay seasoning, pepper and bread crumbs.  Add a dash of hot sauce if
desired.

Chill for about 10 minutes.  Form patties, making sure they are tightly formed, and pan sear on each side in grapeseed or coconut oil.  Try flipping the shrimp cakes gently, with a fork to keep them from falling apart.  A few crumbs will escape but if the cakes are tightly formed they will stay together.

Serve with apricot ginger sauce and white or coconut rice.

This recipe was adapted from multiple sources.

Apricot Ginger Drizzle

½ cup apricot preserves

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce from Thai kitchen

¼ cup water, white wine or sherry

Directions

In a small sauce pan, heat the preserves, grated ginger, chili sauce and white wine over medium heat. Let is simmer for a few minutes then take off the heat.  When it cools it will thicken.  Just re-heat the sauce to thin.

My shortcut creation… no adapting here. 🙂

 Coconut Rice

Ingredients

1 cup coconut milk

¾ cup basmati rice

½ cup water

2 T sugar

¼ t salt

Directions

Combine coconut milk, rice, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stir once, then cover and cook for 15-18 minutes, or until the rice is
tender.  Fluff with a fork, cover, and keep warm.