Lemongrass Shrimp Fried Rice

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed doing something fun and/or relaxing. Lately work has been busy as we're working on quite a few things at the same time. As a result, I haven't had much time to cook or bake, much less update with recipes to share... but things will go back to the usual daily routine come September. I can't wait to get more time in the kitchen especially as fall is right around the corner. But I did manage to make this Lemongrass Shrimp Fried Rice not too long ago. Onions, garlic, ginger and lemongrass starts this dish off before plump shrimp, rice and mixed vegetables joins into the sauté to blend flavors in this color, easy dish...

This past weekend was a busy one. Saturday I spent the day with Melissa, a friend, coworker and one of the bloggers behind Turning Veganese. For her birthday, we celebrated brunch in style at Rockit Burger Bar [restaurant review coming soon!]. We even did some shopping where I scored some crazy awesome deals on cookbooks. I also learned how much I enjoyed painting! In fact, I plan to take more time to paint as a means of letting my creative juices express themselves on canvas. I also spent a few hours of my weekend giving friends visiting from Singapore a foodie tour of Chicago in the Chinatown, Pilsen and Albany Park neighborhoods for a taste of authentic Chinese, Mexican and Middle Eastern cuisines. Sunday was also a special day since it was the 1 year anniversary of the Baron's and my first date. It's crazy how quickly time has flown and it has been one of the best years I've had in awhile. I mentioned how I really enjoyed painting... and here's one of the gifts I made the Baron for our anniversary [which he loved & he even caught the symbolism of certain things about my painting...] 

We had a lovely day celebrating with Joel and the Baron's family at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. They have a great butterfly exhibit going on and the annual Kite Festival was happening too. For dinner, the Baron and I celebrated at Fleming's Steakhouse. It happens to be where we ate on an earlier date... the same date when he kissed me for the first time. [Aww... he made me weak in the knees then and still does now every time he kisses me lol.] We enjoyed a nearly identical dinner to what we had on our previous date. Stay tuned - a restaurant review of Fleming's Steakhouse to come!

Lemongrass Shrimp Fried Rice

recipe adapted from Ming Tsai

2 tablespoons oil
1 finely diced yellow onion
1 minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
2 stalks lemograss, minced, white part only
4 cups cooked jasmine rice
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lime, juiced
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
Sal and pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium high heat, add the oil. When oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. 

Add the shrimp and cook until almost pink, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the rice to the skillet and saute the rice for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add lime juice and mixed vegetables; season with salt and pepper to taste.