Asian Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

My favorite part about living in South Louisiana is that fresh seafood is aplenty, crab and shrimp in particular. It's so easy to prepare in a healthy manner and still have outstanding flavor.  There is no need to make sauces laden with cream. The grilled shrimp are very tasty; the turmeric in the marinade is unexpected and adds such depth.  What makes this recipe remarkable though, (apart from the size of the shrimp) is the sauce.  If you like spicy, herby, and fiery Asian inspired sauces then this is the shrimp dish for you.  I want to put this sauce on everything!  Both the shrimp and sauce fit the Paleo diet well.  I also prepared grilled zucchini spears tossed in olive oil with sea salt and black pepper, which made for a delicious, light, healthy, quick grilled meal.


A note about fish sauce- they are not all created equal.  I buy mine from an Asian market in town, the brand is 3 Crabs.  I have tried others and find the 3 Crabs brand to be far superior in taste, in addition to having a lower sodium content than the other brands I have tried.


I'm pretty lucky when it comes to buying seafood, it's delivered to my door at work- fresh and recently caught.  If I was having to buy at a market though, I would look for a place which has a lot of turnover.  Shrimp should not smell well, "shrimpy." They should smell like the sea without any type of an offending odor.  Shrimp are sized by numbers, the numbers mean the number of shrimp per pound.  For example, 21-25 shrimp means that there are between 21 and 25 shrimp per pound.  U-12 shrimp means there are approximately 12 shrimp per pound.  The smaller the number, the larger the shrimp.  If you purchase the shrimp a day or so before you plan to use them, place them in a plastic bag inside a bowl of ice in the refrigerator.  The ice bath will keep the shrimp fresh longer without freezing them.


Asian Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Dipping Sauce


2 pounds head-on fresh jumbo shrimp, (I used U-12 count unpeeled shrimp)


Marinade:
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon turmeric


1. In a large bowl, whisk together fish sauce, olive oil and turmeric.  Add shrimp and toss to combine.  Allow the shrimp to marinate for 30 minutes.


Cilantro Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups roughly chopped cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
8 garlic cloves
2" piece of peeled fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Optional- 1 teaspoon brown sugar


1. In the bowl of a food processor combine all dipping sauce ingredients and pulse until a coarse mixture forms.  Transfer the dipping sauce to a small serving bowl and set aside.


Grilling the shrimp:
You can either use a stove top grill pan or an outdoor grill, I've used both finding good results either way.


Build a medium hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat the stove top grill pan over high heat.  If using a gas grill, heat to high.  Oil grill grates or pan.  Place shrimp on grill and cook turning occasionally, until shrimp are a little charred and cooked through.  The time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp, for jumbo shrimp 5-6 minutes.  Serve with dipping sauce.