THAI SHRIMP LETTUCE WRAPS

The next country on my world tour was Bahrain. I will be honest with you...I crash landed. Yep...this was not my first aborted mission; nor will it be the last. I made a chicken dish that stuck in the throat.

So...let me tell you about some really good food I made last night! Don't look at that dried carcass of a bird behind the curtain. We are talking about one of the tastiest cuisines in the world...Thai! It is not only delicious, it is also easy to make. Which is a good thing, because I don't think my mojo could withstand two major disasters in a row. No sir! When life hands this Rooster a lemon, he finds something easier!

Thai shrimp lettuce wraps follow the ancient Thai formula of filling your mouth with four different kinds of flavor at once. We have your sweet...we have your sour...we have your spicy, and, we have your salty. In a dry pan, heat a third of a cup of unsweetened shredded coconut. I was unable to find unsweetened, so I only used a quarter cup. It worked fine. Once the coconut begins to brown, and you are driving the cats, dogs or gold fish crazy with the great smell, put the coconut aside, in a bowl, to cool. Either get a cup of cooked baby shrimp; or, do what I did. I used a cup of raw, medium sized shrimp, cooked them briefly in a little olive oil, and cut them into smaller pieces. These go into a mixing bowl. Also, into the bowl, goes 1/3 cup of chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts, 2 green onions sliced thin, 2 cloves of garlic pressed, 2 teaspoons of grated ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of dried crushed chili peppers, a half a teaspoon of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of coconut milk. All of this is stirred together. Now add the coconut.

Spoon this out onto several leaves of romaine lettuce. The sour comes from squeezing the juice of a lime into the finished product. Don't sweat it if you don't have limes. I forgot to do this, and it tasted wonderful. Fold the lettuce around the mixture and enjoy! See...isn't that a LOT better than dry chicken?