A delicious dish with few ingredients in one pot but big flavors. My own take on the Lebanese traditional sayadieh. Made with shrimp, rice and onion. a quick healthy and very easy recipe that you can wipe in no time.
Servings 4servings
Ingredients
2cupsbrown basmati ricewashed soaked for 15 minutes and drained (see notes)
4cupsfish brothsee notes
1tbspgrapeseed oilsee notes
1tbsp20g butter, organic grass-fed option if possible
2big onioncut into wings
1kgshrimpspeeled and deveined
Salt to taste
Lemon juice
Sayadieh spices mixture:
½tbspcumin powder
½tbspsweet pepper
½tbspcinnamon powder
½tbsp7 spices
½tspcaraway powdersee notes
Instructions
STEP 01: start by mixing all the spices together in a small glass bowl. Clean and drain your shrimp well and add 2 tbsp of the spice mixture to the shrimp and toss till all the shrimps are covered with spices.
STEP 02: preheat the oil on medium-high heat in a deep skillet. Add the shrimps to the pan in one layer don’t over crowd the pan, you can cook them in batches. Cook the shrimp for 3 minutes than turn them to the other side and cook for other 2 minutes. After you cooked all the shrimp set aside and keep the skillet don’t wash it.
STEP 03: in the same skillet we cooked the shrimp in, add the butter and the onions wings and mix it all together so the onion absorbs all those shrimps residue in the bottom of the skillet. Add 1 tsp salt and ½ tbsp of the spices mixture and Cook the onions on medium-high heat stirring occasionally till tender and fully caramelized for around 10-15 minutes .
STEP 04: remove 2 tbsp of the caramelized onions for garnish and keep the remaining in the skillet. Add the washed and drained rice to the pan and mix it well with the onions. Fry the rice with the onions for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
STEP 05: add the fish broth to the skillet with the remaining spice mixture and mix, taste and adjust the salt to your taste. Bring the mixture to boil and lower the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes covered so the rice cook. After the 15 minutes turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 5 min covered before removing the cover and releasing the remaining steam.
STEP 06: after the 5 min, remove the cover of the skillet squeeze some fresh lemon juice of one lemon and fluff the rice with a fork. Top it with the shrimps back to the pan and garnish with the onions and some lemon slice. Enjoy!
Notes
Rice: you can use any kind of rice you like instead of the brown basmati. you can use normal white basmati rice or long grain rice. Fish broth: you can find ready made fish broth in the grocery store or you can do your own at home whenever you are preparing some fish. I usually always have some in hand stored in the freezer, but if you cannot find or do the broth you can use any vegetable broth of your liking or even water. Oil: you can use any neutral vegetable oil of your liking instead of the grapeseed oil. I just use this type because it has a higher burning degree which make it a healthier choice. Caraway powder: known also in some region under the name of meridian fennel or Persian cumin, it is used in famous traditional dishes in Lebanon such as moughrabiye (مغربية) and meghle (مغلي) caraway is a very unique spice with an earthy slightly bitter flavor that is very similar to a combination of anise, fennel, and coriander flavors. But if you cannot find it or never heard of it you totally skip it, it add a original taste to this recipe but I tried this recipe without it and it is still a very delicious recipe. Meal prep: you can cook this recipe for your meal prep. Let it cool and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.