Hot Hunan Shrimp Recipe

This fast and easy recipe is adapted from Food and Wine magazine.

1 lb large shrimp
1 T Shaoxing wine
1/2 t salt
3 T peanut oil
2 t minced ginger, garlic, chili garlic sauce, minced pickled chiles each
1/3 c water
1/2 t dark soy sauce
2 green onions finely chopped
1 T finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 t sesame oil

Using scissors, cut down the curved side of shells. Remove veins, leave shells intact. Put in bowl and mix with wine and salt.

Heat wok very hot. Add oil, heat to slight smoke. Pat shrimp dry. Add to pan. Cook to nearly done about 2 min. Add ginger, garlic, chili sauce, pickled chiles, and stir fry fragrant about 1 min. Add water , soy sauces, green onions, bell pepper, and stir fry til liquid slightly reduced and shrimp cooked through. Drizzle with sesame oil

               

Hainan Chicken Recipe - National Dish

Hainan Chicken or Chicken with Rice is the national dish of Singapore

Chicken

1. The fresher the chicken the better.
2. Wash the chicken with coarse salt, rubbing away the dead yellow skin.
3. Put some ginger and green onions in the cavity.
4. Fill large pot with enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil.
5. Put chicken in. Allow water to return to a boil and lower heat to a minimal simmer.
6. Cover pot and allow chicken to remain for about an hour, until juices no longer run pink.
7. Reserve the broth
8. Plunge chicken in an icebath to allow skin to firm up and for gel to develop.
9. Chop into bit size pieces.

Rice

1. Use as much as you want and wash rice.
2. Heat stainless skillet. Add oil and cook finely chopped garlic and ginger
3. Add rice and stir fry for a few minutes. Add some salt.
4. Add sufficient chicken broth to soak the rice. Cook for a few minutes.
5. Put into a rice cooker and then add sufficient amount of chicken broth to properly cook rice.

Sauce

1. Mince garlic
2. Finely grate ginger
3. This should be about about a 50/50 mix
4. Add  some Rice vinegar
5. Add some Lime juice enough to fully cover the entire mixture
6. Add sugar to offset the tartness.
7. If desired add Sriracha sauce

Yummy enough for home but the pros make it way better.

                            

Lemon Grass Chicken

A recipe from a Vietnamese friend

2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast/thigh, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 fresh lemongrass stalks, tender inner white bulbs only, minced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3 chilies, seeded and minced
1 scallion for garnishing

In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, garlic, curry powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar. Add the chicken meat to coat.

In a small skillet, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of the water and cook over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until a deep amber caramel forms. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the lemongrass, shallot, and chilies and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the chicken and caramel and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened. Top with the scallion.

You can substitute onions for shallots and dried chili pepper for the fresh.

It seemed like such a waste, discarding about 90% of the stalk and using only the comparatively tender inner layer bulb.

Grocery Shopping - Rome, Italy

Supermarket

We had a day to burn in Rome after the cruise. Going out to eat was expensive so we decided to go to the grocery for dinner items.

Civitavecchia, Italy - Disembark Royal Caribbean Mariner Day 13

This is the final day and relaxing isn't so much on the mind. It's a chore to make sure we've collected everything. We eat breakfast and make it last as we don't have a flight to catch today.  The staff knows you're leaving and that they won't be gettng any more tips.  The service level provided is visibly less. We disembark, collect our luggage, and then look for the transportation.

The port has a shuttle bus that is about a five minute ride to the port gate. People are agitated in the heat and are fighting to get on the shuttle. The AC unit in the bus is set low because Italians don't believe in AC.  Handicapped and senior folks are making the bus ride even more onerous.

It's about a 15 minute walk from the port gate to the rail station. The queue is long because we are joined by many other cruisers headed to Rome. The man behind the ticket counter spends about 10 minutes talking to some women with their big boob cleavage exposed.  I tell the wife she needs to do the same if she wants to get respectful service. When we get up, we ask a question which he impatiently answers and dismisses us immediately. We don't even spend 1 minute with this guy.

The train is packed and we stand the entire 90 minutes to Roma Termini.  It's warm. The AC does not feel like its working.  Luckily some of the window locks have been disabled so we get some good airflow.
 

At Sea - Royal Caribbean Mariner Day 12

Last full day on the ship. Evening.  Overall the evening shows took a preciptious drop in quality with this cruise.

57 year old Russian juggling team. The guy was a bit creepy.

During this 13 day cruise, there were 2 performances by the ship's dancer.  On this last night, they had two dance numbers so this one didn't count as one.  The dancers also seem to be getting thicker.

Last dinner

Shrimp Cocktail

NY Strip Steak. Very ordinary. I swear Europeans don't know how to cook a good steak.

On the other hand, this banana parfait was tremendous. 

Another good chocolate dessert. Royal Caribbean knows how to do chocolate well.

Chania, Crete - RC Mariner Day 11

So this was the end of the port of calls. This was early afternoon as the ship headed out of Chania and photos of the Crete shoreline were taken sailing out.

Lunch

Turkey Wrap. Ordinary. 

Warm rum cake with coffee ice cream

Dinner

Flounder or halibut?

Chocolate with Coffee Ice Cream

Chania, Crete

The walk to the lighthouse is a lot longer than it appears

Old City

On the way up to get a overview of the Old City

This was in the old city. The fish eat you...