Elizabeth's Edible Experience: Caramel Crustaceans

After five years of blogging I have finally decided to hire help in order to publish posts here more frequently. Luckily my new photography assistant lives very near and getting him on staff was relatively cheap, just a couple of Goldfish and some Graham Crackers was all it took to seal the deal. Meet our newest member of the Elizabeth's Edible Experience team....

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Rex has definitely entered the "let me do it" AND the copy cat stage of toddlerhood. He has started to establish a fierce independence coupled with the desire to do exactly what everyone around him is doing. So when he witnessed me photographing this dish had had to try, but not with any help from Mommy or Daddy of course. So we let him at it, while we stood nearby snapping pics on our iPhone while praying that our destructive toddler would handle our pricey camera gently!

Black Pepper Caramel Shrimp
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2013

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag brown rice
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups diagonally cut snow peas
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce

Preparation

1. Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Keep warm.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp begin to turn pink.

Add peas, garlic, pepper, and salt; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. Combine broth, sugar, and fish sauce in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil; stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook 30 seconds or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.