The Salads of Casa de Cuisine: Southwest Shrimp Stir-Fry Salad

So, what is a salad? As opposed to what many believe, it is not a mound of greens slathered in an industrial gunk called a "dressing." It is not a plate of raw vegetables. It is not an umimaginative conglomeration of produce meant for only dieters. A salad is a perfect marriage of taste and texture which when properly created and structured, can be the highlight of any dining experience. All through the month of February, Chef Larry Edwards will be feauting the Salads of Casa de Cuisine and you will see salads like you've never seen them before.

If you love the spicy tastes of Southwest cooking, you will love this brand new culinary creation from Chef Larry Edwards. What we thought was amazing, aside from the taste, is how the Chef fused Asian spices with Southwestern flavor. Hmmm, maybe the best of two great cooking traditions.

As usual, it's all natural and easy to prepare!

Ingredients needed to make Southwest Shrimp Stir-Fry Salad (serves 2):

• 1 pound shrimp, in shells
• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. Asian chili oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder
• 1 Tbs. sesame oil
• 2 Tbs. hoisin sauce
• 2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and julienned (cut into thin strips)
• fresh basil leaves
• salad greens

Steps:

1. Rinse the shrimp under cold running water and set aside.
2. Into a large saute pan or wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and saute 5 minutes.
3. Into a small bowl, whisk together the chili oil, garlic, 5-spice powder, sesame oil and hoisin sauce.
4. Add the jalapeno peppers to the pan and stir-fry 1 minutes.
5. Add the sauce and cook 3 minutes.
6. Place the shrimp over the salad greens and drizzle with some of the sauce.
7. Top with fresh basil leaves and serve.

Chef's Note: The reason the shrimp are cooked with their shell still on is two-fold. First, the shell protects the shrimp meat from the intense heat. Secondly, the sauce will enter the shell, thus giving the the shrimp the ultimate in taste.

** Inside Google calls Chef Larry Edwards "quite possibly the most popular Chef in the world" and now you can find out what Chef Larry Edwards has coming up in the kitchen, on the road, in the restaurants and in the media by joining him on Facebook where the Chef's snarky personality and often controversial comments are always sure to cause a stir.