Microwaved Shrimp Creole
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup uncle ben's white rice uncle ben's (not instant)
- 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced i use minced garlic in jar (about 1 tablesp.)
- 2 cans (8 oz ea) diced tomatoes unseasoned
- 1 can (4 oz) tomato sauce
- 1-1/2 pounds medium shrimp uncooked & peeled
- Carbohydrate 6.77626524690911 g
- Cholesterol 10.1677083376937 mg
- Fat 4.99353265051138 g
- Fiber 0.62298530283537 g
- Protein 0.92757038580211 g
- Saturated Fat 2.59796103096453 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (128g)
- Sodium 32.6659515656648 mg
- Sugar 6.15327994407374 g
- Trans Fat 0.323298092426297 g
- Calories 74 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook rice conventionally while microwaving sauce (instructions on box (for 4 servings). It will take 25 minutes (cook for 20 min + 5 minutes off burner)
- Combine celery, green pepper, onion, garlic and olive oil in 2 quart casserole.
- Cover.
- Microwave at High 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Drain 1/3 cup liquid from tomatoes into 1-cup measure. Blend until smooth.
- Add tomatoes with remaining juice, flour mixture, lemon juice and tomato sauce to vegetables.
- Microwave 7 to 8 minutes, or until thick.
- Remove shells from shrimp and rinse.
- Stir into sauce. Cover.
- Reduce power to 50% (medium) and microwave 15 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque, stirring two times (after 5 min and again after another 5 min).
- Serve over hot rice.
Tomatoes anchor this dish, supplying both the liquid base and the acid required to balance the shellfish. When using canned unseasoned diced tomatoes alongside tomato sauce, the moisture level remains strictly controlled, preventing the sauce from becoming watery as the aromatics soften.
Microwave cooking relies on water molecules absorbing energy directly, which alters how vegetables and proteins cook compared to conventional stovetop methods. Cooking the celery, green pepper, onion, garlic, and olive oil covered at high power for 3 to 5 minutes traps steam to break down cell walls quickly without browning. Blending a portion of the drained tomato liquid with flour creates a slurry that thickens the sauce without forming lumps when reintroduced. Reducing the microwave power to 50 percent for the final 15 minutes prevents the shrimp from seizing up and turning rubbery, ensuring they reach an opaque state gently while releasing their own juices into the sauce.
Swapping canned tomatoes for fresh ripe varieties requires adjusting the cooking time upward by approximately 10 minutes to evaporate excess water content. Using frozen shrimp necessitates complete thawing and thorough patting with paper towels to avoid diluting the tomato sauce concentration.
