Yogurtsoda Gratuitous food and travel.

i know citruses are generally winter fruits, but i tend to associate them with warmer weather. maybe that’s why lately i’ve been cooking a lot with lemon and lime. they’re the perfect answer to sunny days that beg for something colorful, light and fresh-tasting. and it certainly doesn’t hurt when they’re asian-inspired dishes, either:

drunken noodles

shrimp cakes with chili-lime cream sauce

here’s the recipe for the shrimp cakes:

1 pound shrimp, peeled,
1 egg
1 green onion, sliced
2 T lemon juice
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t salt
pinch of ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups panko
2 T vegetable oil

1. finely chop shrimp and place in a bowl. add egg, green onion, lemon juice, mustard, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. add panko and mix well.

2. form mixture into twelve 3-inch-diameter cakes. transfer to waxed-paper-lined baking sheet. refrigerate 10 minutes.

3. heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. working in batches, fry cakes until cooked through and golden brown on both sides, adding more oil to skillet as needed, about 6 minutes. spoon chili-lime cream sauce (recipe follows) onto plates and place 2 shrimp cakes on each and serve immediately.

chili-lime cream sauce:

1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lime juice
1 T chopped ginger
1 T minced shallot
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 T chili-garlic sauce
4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1. combine first 4 ingredients in small saucepan. boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. add cream and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

2. reduce heat to low. mix in chili-garlic sauce. add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking just until melted before adding next piece.