Roasted Red Chili Seafood Stir Fry with Lime Jasmine Rice

I planned on making a red curry one night except I inadvertently bought a jar of roasted red chili paste rather than the red curry paste.  So, I improvised and the curry turned into a stir-fry.  I used the roasted red chili paste in this dish and combined it with some sweet curry powder.  The end result is rather tasty.

This is a mixed seafood stir fry so, really, anything goes.  Having made a lot of fish recently, I decided that I would stick to other seafood, such as scallops, squid and shrimp.  The key to this dish, which is the key to any mixed seafood dish, is timing.  Scallops take longer than squid.  Both scallops and squid take longer than shrimp.  The size of the seafood can further change all of the cooking times.  The times in this recipe are approximate.  Cooking seafood is best done with your eyes, watching the seafood go from their "translucent" state to opaque.  When you see that start to happen, add the next seafood. 

ROASTED RED CHILI SEAFOOD STIR FRY WITH LIME JASMINE RICE

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 2-3

Ingredients (for the rice):
1 cup of jasmine rice
2 limes
Zest from one of the limes
2 cups of water

Ingredients for the stir fry:
1/2 pound of cleaned squid
1/2 pound of 16-20 count shrimp, shelled and deveined
4-6 sea scallops
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 green pepper, sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic, diced
3 teaspoons of roasted red chili paste
2 teaspoons of sweet curry powder
4 tablespoons of canola oil
1 heirloom tomato, sliced into quarters or eighths

Directions:

1.  Make the rice.  Pour the rice in the bowl.  Take one lime and squeeze the juice over the rice, making sure that the rice absorbs the lime.  Heat the water on high.  Once the water begins to boil, add the rice and juice from the second lime.  Reduce the heat and cook until the rice absorbs the water.

2.  Cook the vegetables.  Heat the oil in a wok on medium high.  Add the shallots, green pepper and garlic.  Add two of the teaspoons of roasted red chili paste and one teaspoon of sweet curry powder.  Saute for five to seven minutes until the vegetables are well cooked.

3.  Cook the scallops and squid.  Move the vegetables to the side of the wok, but keep the oil on the other side.  Turn up the heat a little. Add the scallops and cook until the scallops begin to become opaque and browned on the bottom, which should take four to five minutes.   Flip the scallops and then add the squid.  Add 1/2 teaspoon of the red chili paste and 1/2 teaspoon of the sweet curry powder.  Stir to mix the paste and powder amongst the scallops and squid.  Continue to cook the scallops and squid, stirring and flipping the squid to make sure that it is cooked on all sides. 

4.  Add shrimp and tomatoes.  When the squid becomes opaque, which should be about another five to six minutes, add the shrimp and heirloom tomatoes.  Add 1/2 teaspoon of the red chili paste and 1/2 teaspoon of the sweet curry powder.  Stir to mix the paste and powder amongst the seafood ingredients.    Add 1/2 teaspoon of the red chili paste and 1/2 teaspoon of the sweet curry powder.  Continue to cook until the shrimp becomes opaque.  Stir all of the vegetables with the seafood.

5.  Plate the dish. Plate the rice in the center and spoon the seafood over the rice.  You could also place the rice to one side and spoon the seafood on the other side.  Garnish with the lime zest.

For a dish that I created on the fly, this turned out fairly well. The roasted red chili paste and the sweet curry powder blended well together.  The different seafood worked well together as well.  I liked the green pepper in the dish, but I think other vegetables may also work well.  I would suggest a crisp white wine, such as a Riesling or Pinot Grigio for this dish.

ENJOY!