Grilled Thai Shrimp

Besides being very passionate about cooking, I am also very passionate about video games. But lately there has been very little to be passionate about in the video game world. We are in the very early stage of the next generation consoles and there are very few games to play out there.

To pass the time I've been playing Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The game disc contains all of the Halo games, including the original, Halo: Combat Evolved, from 2001. That game brings back a lot of cherished memories. It was a multi-player, first-person shooter set far into the future.

In 2001, gaming over the Internet on your Xbox was still two years away. So in order to play multi-player, you had to all be in the same room and play on a split screen. Sean was six at the time and Patrick was four and we'd throw in cousin Ryan to round out our teams. Weekends were made much more fun by this and we'd often play for 4 to 5 hours at a time. So it's kind of fun for me to be playing  the game again that really started a family tradition.

So while I'm playing my retro games waiting for Halo 5 to come out in the fall, here's a little Thai to tide us all over. This recipe serves four.


Ingredients

1 pound raw shrimp (15 to 20 count per pound) peeled,
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime), plus lime wedges for garnish
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 Thai chile, sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Put the shrimp into a glass bowl. Whisk the remaining ingredients in another bowl and pour 2/3 of it over the shrimp. (Reserve the remaining marinade to brush on the shrimp during grilling.)
2. Marinate the shrimp for just 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat (350º to 450º).
3. Place the shrimp on skewers. Grill shrimp for 2 minutes on each side while brushing with the reserved marinade.
4. Remove shrimp from grill and serve with lime wedges.

Wine pairing: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. A Kim Crawford if you're lucky.