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1
Trim the ends from the lemongrass, then bruise one of the stalks all over with the back of a knife.
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2
Cut it in half and put the halves in the bottom of a saucepan with the nam pla.
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3
Squeeze the juice of one of the limes into the pot, then throw the lime halves in there.
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4
Top with the shrimp, cover tightly, and turn the heat to medium-high.
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5
Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and firm.
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6
Remove the shrimp and chill.
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7
Remove the hard outer layers from the remaining lemongrass stalk and mince the tender core; you wont get much more than a teaspoon or two.
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8
Combine this with the chile, coconut milk, sugar, and saffron in a small saucepan over low heat.
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9
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a uniform yellow.
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10
Remove the chile and chill.
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11
Cut the remaining lime into wedges.
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12
Taste the sauce and add a little salt if necessary.
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13
Serve the cold shrimp topped with the cold sauce and accompanied by lime wedges.
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14
Although canned coconut milk is perfectly convenient, making coconut milk at home is easy and will contain no preservatives: Combine 2 cups of water and 2 cups dried unsweetened shredded or grated coconut in a blender.
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15
Use a towel to hold the lid on tightly and turn the switch on and off a few times quickly to get the mixture going.
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16
Then blend for about 30 seconds.
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17
Let rest for 10 minutes.
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18
Pour the milk through a strainer.
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19
This will be fairly thick.
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20
If you need more milk, just pour additional water through the coconut, up to another cup or two.
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21
Press the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible.
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22
Use immediately or freeze indefinitely.
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23
Almost all shrimp are frozen before sale.
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24
So unless youre in a hurry, you might as well buy them frozen and defrost them yourself; this will guarantee you that they are defrosted just before you cook them, therefore retaining peak quality.
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25
There are no universal standards for shrimp size; large and medium dont mean much.
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26
Therefore, it pays to learn to judge shrimp size by the number per pound, as retailers do.
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27
Shrimp labeled 16/20, for example, contain sixteen to twenty per pound; those labeled U-20 require fewer (under) twenty to make a pound.
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28
Shrimp from fifteen to about thirty per pound usually give the best combination of flavor, ease (peeling tiny shrimp is a nuisance), and value (really big shrimp usually cost more than $15 a pound).
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29
On deveining: I dont.
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30
You can, if you like, but its a thankless task, and there isnt one person in a hundred who could blind-taste the difference between shrimp that have and have not been deveined.
