Prawns with Stone-Ground Mustard  

and Basil Sauce on Toasted Baguette

Our featured recipe this time comes from Chef Sam Ung, one of his favorite appetizers.  

• 1½ pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveinedFlour for shrimp coating
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cream
• 3 sprigs basil, chopped fine
• Baguette, sliced and toasted

1. Toss shrimp lightly in flour and set aside. In sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil to high heat. Sear shrimp until light pink and remove from the pan.
2. Add the additional 1 tablespoon oil, sauté shallot and garlic until lightly browned. Deglaze pan by adding wine and lifting all the brown bits of the shallot and garlic from the bottom of the pan. Add mustard, salt, cream and warm on moderate heat.
3. Return shrimp to the pan. Warm shrimp. Remove from heat, add basil for garnish and serve over noodles. As an appetizer, place shrimp on toasted baguette and garnish with basil.

Hanami 

Hisako, co-owner of Miyabe Japanese Restaurant explains Hanami as a Japanese tradition during springtime when people enjoy the beauty of the sakura or cherry blossom flowers with family, friends, and coworkers. People sit under the fully open cherry blossom trees and have a picnic celebration. The picnic fare consists of a wide variety of foods, snacks, sake and beer. The activities often include dancing, games, and karaoke in addition to the cherry blossom viewing. People often get to the park to reserve the best spot and wait all day long. This fun event is a big deal for the Japanese people.

In Japan, the cherry blossom bloom is followed the way fall leaf viewing is here in the U.S. This map from February shows predictions across Japan for when the best times will be for seeing the flowers at their peak. (Go to NuCulinary's facebook page for a neat interactive map that is up to date.)  

Here in Seattle there are several places to get a good look at some blossoms. Try the University of Washington's Quad, Seward Park, the Seattle Arboretum, or maybe you're lucky enough to have a cherry tree in your own yard or on your block.  

Opportunities for some Sakura snacking in Seattle are here and there as well. Last night I was at Miyabi Sushi in Tukwila and they are celebrating the beginning of spring and the blooming of cherry blossoms with Hanami bento, appetizers, and sake specials. The bento is full of lots of little fancy things: sushi, tempura shrimp, gyuniku (rolled asparagus & beef), grilled fish, pickle, fresh salad.  

We also ordered their sakura sushi. Inside was spicy tuna, shrimp, and crab, with wasabi roe, and wrapped with mamenori, which is a soy wrapper.  

For dessert, check Uwajimaya for Sakura mochi, a type of sweet pink rice cake with red bean paste and wrapped with a sakura (cherry tree) leaf.

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