Happy Monday!

My goal this week is to post each day even though I’m in Geneva for business. My days are a bit crazy considering that meetings start around 7am with breakfast connects and then end with dinners after a long day of larger meetings. Many of my colleagues are based here in Geneva and therefore I’ve only met them via phone. It’s so lovely to finally meet them in person and connect!

Today’s post is a fun challenge for a Monday. Bo and I both enjoy cooking together but it’s rare that we actually create recipes. Back in November, as part of the Fitfluential Silk Campaign, we created three recipes. My favorite of the three is actually one that is more complicated than the average weeknight recipe but so much fun to make when you have some spare time, such as next Monday if you have the Martin Luther King Day holiday off from work or school!

There is nothing Bo and I rather do than crack open a bottle of wine and spend the evening in the kitchen cooking together. Cooking together soothes both our souls after a long week. During the week our recipes tend to be simple and quick, sometimes even relying on smoothies for a dinner option. But, when we’re cooking during the weekend putting a unique twist on a restaurant favorite or trying our hand at a new genre provides us with a welcome challenge.

This dish looks complicated based on the ingredient list but is actually a lot of fun and provides you with an opportunity to peruse your local Asian food store and try your hand at cooking with new flavors.  We put a healthier spin on this dish, without losing any of the important flavor components by using light coconut milk, Shirataki noodles, and Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original. Using  PureAlmond Unsweetened in recipes allows us to get the smooth and delicious texture of milk but saves at 30 calories per serving, is free of lactose and cholesterol!

So, without further ado, grab your apron and hop in the kitchen for some fun with this dish! As you can see from the picture below, it presents wonderfully too!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs shrimp (peeled and deveined, shells saved)
• Freshly ground black pepper, dash
• Kosher salt, dash
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp chopped celery
• 2 tbsp chopped carrots
• 2 tbsp chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic cloves
• 1 lemongrass stalk (hard outer layers removed and chopped)
• 2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 whole cloves
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 3-8 dried Arbol chili peppers (seeded) (available at most grocery stores or any ethnic store)
• 3 sliced shallots
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste (available at a good Asian market)
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tsp sugar
• ½ can (~7oz) of coconut cream
• 1 cup of Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original
• 3 cups of bean sprouts
• 4 packages of wide tofu noodles (Shirataki is a good brand)
• Freshly chopped mint & cilantro
• Fresh limes
• Sambal Oelek or Sriracha for seasoning broth

For the Shrimp Stock

Note: This step is optional and 4 cups of reduced sodium chicken stock can be substituted.

Sautee celery, carrots, white onion, garli in a medium stock pot in oil on medium.

Add 2tbps chopped lemongrass, ½ tsp of black pepper and ½ tsp of kosher  salt, sautéing for 2 minutes, until sweating.

Add shrimp shells, sauté briefly until shells are pink and aromatic.

Add cold water until entire mixture is barely covered.

Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1-2 hours.

For the Laksa Broth

Mix all spices and chilies together in a spice grinder or food processor and grind.

Transfer to small pan on medium heat, moving constantly, toasting until aromatic.

Heat 2 tbsp oil on medium-high heat in a large sauce pan.

Add shallots, shrimp paste, ginger, remainder of lemon grass, sugar, 3 tsp kosher salt and toasted spice mixture to pan and sauté’ until onions are slightly caramelized (about 3 min).

Add coconut cream and almond milk to pan, increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

Add prepared shrimp stock (or chicken stock) and simmer until fat separates from broth (~20 mins).

While broth is simmering, briefly boil sprouts to soften and divide into four large noodle bowls.

Transfer tofu noodles into a colander and risk well under cold water (if you don’t rinse, they will have a strong tofu flavor).

Press noodles in paper towel to remove moister (its often worth repeating several times as tofu noodles absorb many times their weight in water and can dilute the broth if not dried well).

Divide noodles and add to bowls with sprouts.

Right before serving, lightly salt and pepper the shrimp and add to broth and cook for 1 – 2 minutes until shrimp are almost opaque (they will continue cooking so they can still be a little translucent).

Ladle shrimp and broth into bowls with noodles and sprouts and serve with lime wedges, mint, cilantro and sambal.

For your reference, I’ve included the nutritional information below. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info

Servings per recipe: 6

Calories: 336

Total Fat: 15.6

Cholesterol: 294.7

Sodium: 781

Total Carbs: 16.8

Dietary Fiber: 5.2

Protein: 35.5

Enjoy!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and Fitfluential, LLC. All opinions expressed are my own. Learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook and Twitter.