There's a reason why shrimp is as popular as it is: It's delicious, and fairly difficult to fuck up. You may see offers of endless shrimp at certain buffets and mid-range seafood restaurants, but you're not going to see offers for "infinite abalone" or "bottomless tilapia." Shrimp hit the mark, are quick to cook, and are even more easy to eat by the dozen.Sure, it's quite possible for the novice to overcook these little decapods and render them dry and mealy, but they'll still retain their sweet, shrimpy flavor. And hey—blackened shrimp ain't so bad, either.But just because it's easy to make doesn't mean it's unsophisticated. And one of Peru's top chefs, Flavio Solórzano, is here to prove that.
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After a quick dip in a marinade of salt, vinegar, garlic, and soy sauce, Flavio insulates his sea bugs with strips of banana leaf, which keeps them moist as they're licked by an open flame.Once you've got that mastered, just take a trip down to Lima on your private jet, snap up some cocona and aji charapita peppers, and fly back to make the sauce.
Oh, we didn't mention that this recipe requires some relatively obscure South American members of the nightshade family?You could substitute some Costa Rican naranjillas. Fresh out of those too? Try tomatillos, or even tomatoes. For the aji charapitas, snare yourself a habanero pepper.And next thing you know: ta-da. Your crustacean-y cuisine is ready to be served to the masses who are none the wiser that they were simple as hell to prepare.