Asian pears – image courtesy of beautifulcataya

Dish of the Week: Shrimp with pine nut dressing

Last night I had the opportunity to partake in the annual Embassy Chef Challenge, which allowed guests to sample food prepared by the chefs from 11 embassies: Bahrain, Belgium, Hungary, Israel, Korea, Morocco, Nepal, Ghana, Panama, Qatar, and Serbia.

At the end of the night, a top embassy chef was selected by a panel of celebrity judges, as well as a people’s choice winner voted upon by the event’s guests. The winner as selected by the judges was Jan Van Haute of Belgium, whose dishes featured a composed plate of pork belly with cauliflower foam and currant jam. The people’s choice winner was Einat Admony of Israel, with a creamy chestnut soup.

But one of the dishes worth noting was a shrimp salad with pine nut dressing served by Jae-ok Chang, the Korean embassy chef. Plated alongside a lacquered ginger chicken, the salad was a refreshing contrast. The cool salad played crisp cucumber against sweet, juicy Asian pears with a dressing made creamy with coconut milk. They were kind enough to provide the recipe for all the attendees, and it’s definitely worth trying at home.

Shrimp with Pine Nut Dressing – provided by the Korean embassy (serves 5-6)
1/2 lb. medium cook shrimp – shelled, deveined and patted dry
1 Asian pear – peeled, cored, and sliced shrimp-sized
2 pickling cucumbers – cut lengthwise and sliced into half moons
5 sweetened chestnuts**

Dressing:
5 tbsp. pine nuts
3 tbsp. coconut milk
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. Korean seasoned salt**

Mix dressing ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve. Toss with the shrimp, pear, cucumber, and chestnuts just before serving.

**Available in Korean specialty groceries. You can substitute the seasoned salt with salt.