Vietnamese Lemon Grass Shrimp & Tilapia: A Dinner you Can't Refuse

Ok Y'all this is my first dinner and movie blog post! I'm really excited :) The reason I'm writing this blog is because I LOVE food (Southeast and South Asian food in particular) and I LOVE movies!! So while in the past I've considered myself to be a pretty good cook and a knowledgeable movie buff I recently realized that my cooking expertise was limited to boiling pasta, microwaving Ramen and ordering out and my movie list consisted of the re-makes of the re-makes of the classics. Thus, I've taken on the yummy and thrilling feat of attacking 2-4 new recipes a month from my Vietnamese, Thai and Indian Cookbooks and a 365 long list of movies that should be watched before you call yourself a movie buff (according to IMDB). I will be completely honest with my recipes; I am an amateur chef in the making so I'll let you know what I burned or found challenging to make! I will give you the low-down on each movie; if I love it I love it if I hate it I'll let you know that too! My movie selection will range from black and white to current movies out in theaters today!! I hope you enjoy my new hobby and find my recipe and movie choices interesting and entertaining enough to try yourself! So Bon Apetit and Enjoy the Show!

*** Fun Blog Facts: Matthew Wright illustrated my seasoned wok & bunchayum is a play on my favorite Vietnamese dish Bun Cha****

Vietnamese Spicy Lemongrass Shrimp & Tilapia accompanied with Sauteed Spinach and Aromatic Rice

My first meal y'all!! Its extremely delicious and easy to make. Sweetness, fragrant lemongrass and fish sauce are very indicative of Vietnamese food. I hope you enjoy :)

Spicy Lemmon Grass Shrimp & Tilapia 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs fresh medium shrimp; peeled & deveined

2 tbsp oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

cilantro

Marinade Ingredients

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp dried red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 stalks lemongrass (outer hard parts should be removed and the inner tender portion should be sliced thinly)

1 tsp minced garlic

First combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix them really well with a whisk. Next layer in the raw tilapia and then add in the raw shrimp on top. Shake the bowl to make sure all of the fish is soaked with the mixture. Sit the mixture in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile you can tackle the other side dishes of your dinner!

Next, heat oil in a wok over high heat and stir fry the garlic until it smells yummy and looks golden brown (approx. 30 sec.). I first sauteed the fish about 2 min each side or at least until the fish is tender and flaky and no longer raw looking in the center. I then set the fish on paper towels to get rid of some of the oil. I'd actually recommend using a thicker fish like cod or something as opposed to tilapia, which is really fragile. However, my tilapia was DABOMB! Next saute the shrimp and all of the marinade for about 2-3 minutes until pink but don't over cook them! They'll be tough! Also watch out for the oil when adding the shrimp and fish because the oil will splash and burn!! Add fish and shrimp in a container together and set aside or plate it up if you're ready :) It smells sooooo good you'll probably want to taste one or two or three shrimp! But try and wait to eat it all together; it'll be worth it.

Sauteed Spinach

Ingredients

1/4 tsp butter (I used light butter)

as much minced garlic as you want; I really like garlic so I did about a tablespoon

olive oil (eye ball it to coat the saute pan)

salt and pepper to taste

fresh or frozen spinach (fresh spinach is actually way better!)

Remove stems from spinach after washing if using fresh spinach. If using frozen spinach just prepare according to the instructions on the package. Add butter and garlic to the saute pan and let simmer until golden brown and yummy smelling! Add the oil then spinach and stir in coating with the butter, oil and garlic. Then cover and steam for about a minute. Plate it up!!! Its a delicious spin on the roughage every healthy colon needs :) 

Fried Aromatic Rice

Ingredients 

Jasmine rice (cooked in a steamer; about two cups)

butter

1/2 tbsp ginger

1/4 tsp garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chicken broth/stock

1/4 tsp fish sauce

1/4 tsp oyster sauce

1/4 cup diced green onion

a dash of soy sauce

pepper to taste

Its actually recommended to cook your rice a day in advance and keep it in the fridge to dry it out and make it easier to absorb all the delicious flavors. But I just steamed mine really quick in my rice cooker then covered it and stuck it in the back of my fridge while I made everything else. Still tasted really great! Get that wok out; preferably with the seasonings and brown junk from cooking the shrimp and add the olive oil. Scrape up the drippings and add the ginger and garlic. Saute a minute or so or until you get that yummy smell! Then dump in the rice, butter and chicken broth. Mix everything really well! Add oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce. The sauces are all pretty salty so I don't add salt. Add a little pepper then finally add the green onion and give it one last stir. Be careful that the rice doesn't burn!

Now plate this delicious joker up!!! I was dancing around at this point because I knew it was going to be absolutely delicious. Just tear up some cilantro over all of it (I looooooooove cilantro) and its set :) This meal really took no time at all; 45 minutes tops if you're quick about the prep steps. I'm a grad student so none of my dishes will take longer than an hour. Lot's of studying and life to catch up on so I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen you know because "Ain't nobody got time for that!" This meal also lasted me lunch and dinner for like 3 days (never got tired of it) because I'm a grad student and I like to make meals that last me a while so I can save money!

I hope you enjoy! This meal was super easy, super fast and super delicious! I hope you enjoy!

Check out my movie that goes along with this dish below! The Godfather!!

The Godfather (1972)

My Score: 8.9/10
IMDB Score: 9.2/10
Rating: R
Favorite Line: "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse"--cliche but hey it's a classic!
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Okay okay okay! I know its crazy that I haven't seen The Godfather until now but hey it is what it is. Everytime it came on television it was always the second or third installment or 30 min into the movie. I don't believe in watching a movie for the first time at any part other than the very beginning! So I watched it. It was really good, no surprise there. I finally get all of these pop culture references: "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse" "For justice we go to Don Corleone." and "Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter. And may their first child be a masculine child". The raspy voice of Don Corleone, the horse head in the bed, the strong family ties...everything made this movie great.

Don Corleone is definitely one cool cat. His love and commitment to his friends and family was endearing. However this dude was also scary. My mouth remained open for most of the movie in terror and disbelief at the consequences of overstepping boundaries, showing disrespect and betrayal. There is much violence in this movie so its definitely not for the weak stomached. I mean its not on the level of a Quentin Tarantino film but its definitely got its fill of shootouts, spewing  blood and choke-outs. The most heart wrenching parts were SPOILER ALERT when Michael's first wife was blown up in his car, Sonny was gunned down at toll booth and Don Corleone died in the garden playing with his grandson.SPOILER OVER This is in my opinion definitely a man's movie. The women in this film had no power whatsoever and were basically portrayed as naiive, fragile baby-makers. Spousal abuse and infidelity is one of the hallmarks of the family unit in this movie. 

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and James Caan's performances were phenomenal! I truly enjoyed watching them play these complex and dynamic characters. I actually didn't feel like I was watching Al Pacino in a role; I was watching the life of Michael Corleone. Al Pacino's performance was soooo good I forgot that it was him playing a character. Side note: I didn't realize Dianne Keaton was in this movie!! She seems like she's always been old; but there she is! I barely recognized her. She was also fantastic and believable.

The only downfall for me is the length of this movie. It was a little too long for me; almost 3 hours!!! I'm a 2 to  2 hours and a half kind of movie viewer. I had to take some stretching breaks and some snack breaks. It was still not as long as Titanic and it was slightly shorter than Avatar; but overwhelmingly better than both!

Overall this movie was fantastic. I completely understand why its a must see classic! Go see it if you haven't!! It's on Amazon for $2.99 :)