Shrimp Cakes With Watermelon Hot Sauce
It happens to me every summer. I go to the store, see the watermelons and the voice in my head says, "Ooooooh, watermelon!" Then I buy a whole watermelon. It's not easy to eat a whole watermelon by yourself. Around the time the last quarter of it is left, that watermelon is probably getting close to its expiration date. I could cut it up and freeze it, but that's boring. And I don't really drink smoothies, anyway. But recently I found the answer to my predicament: hot sauce.
My favorite combination of flavors is spicy and sweet, so while this may seem a little out of left field, it's actually a totally logical combination. It also makes sense because watermelon with lime and salt is amazing, and adding a little heat to that (or a lot of heat) seems like the next natural step.
You can put this hot sauce on anything (it's particularly good on fish tacos), but this time around I put it on some Thai shrimp cakes — also a good idea. And I added a little herb salad in there, too, because, you know. We have to keep up appearances while eating spicy fried things.
Shrimp Cakes With Watermelon Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon juice
- 2 large habenero peppers
- 12 cloves of garlic
- 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 pound shrimp
- 1/3 cup scallions
- 1/4 cup celery
- 1/2 cup shallot
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic scapes (or regular garlic if you want)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 cup mint
- 1 cup basil
- 1 cup crushed peanuts
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 lime
Directions
- :::watermelon hot sauce:::
- If you have a juicer, use it to juice the watermelon. If not, just use a blender.
- Roughly dice the habaneros and garlic.
- Add all hot-sauce ingredients to a pot and turn to medium heat. Simmer for 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Set aside (you can store this in the fridge for about 10 days).
- :::shrimp cakes and three-herb salad:::
- Remove the shells and tails from the shrimp, and clean out the vein. Chop the shrimp until pieces are no bigger than a dime.
- Mince the vegetables for the shrimp cakes.
- Combine all shrimp cake ingredients and season generously with salt. Set aside.
- Chop up the herbs for the salad and crush the peanuts, then toss together.
- Heat a frying pan with ¼ cup of vegetable oil up to medium-high heat.
- Form the shrimp cake mix into 8 patties. Fry 2-3 at a time until golden brown on each side (about 4-5 minutes each side). Remove from heat and set on paper towels or a cookie rack. Gently pat the extra oil off the top with some additional paper towel. While those cool, mix the dressing into the salad.
- Top the cakes with a little bit of hot sauce (taste it first, it’s spicy!) and serve alongside the salad.