Asian Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound small or medium shell-on raw shrimp
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 large English cucumber
• 4 ounces jicama

Preparation

1. In a large stockpot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Add the raw shrimp and stir briefly. Bring the water back to a boil and cook the shrimp until pink on the outside and opaque white on the inside, about 3 minutes. Drain shrimp in a colander, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. When cool enough to handle, remove shells and tails.
2. For the marinade, in a large bowl, stir together the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Shave the cucumber into thin slices and quarter them. Peel the jicama, cut it into very thin slices, and chop it into matchsticks. Add the cucumbers, jicama, and cooled shrimp and stir to coat them with marinade.
3. Cover tightly and chill for 2 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve chilled, on a bed of greens if desired.

Ingredient Variations and Substitutions

13 ounces fully cooked and cleaned shrimp may be used instead of 1 pound of raw shrimp.

Canned, drained water chestnuts can be used instead of jicama in this recipe.

Replace up to half of the toasted sesame oil with spicy sesame oil, if desired.

Cooking and Serving Suggestions

If shrimp is purchased frozen, remove it from the freezer the night before to thaw for this recipe. While the cooking water is coming to a boil, rinse the shrimp in cool water to complete thawing.