This is our neighbor Sara‘s margarita recipe. (Sara is pictured above.) We approve. In fact, I made them again 4 days later to make sure I had the right ratios for this post. Painful process that was. Painful.

If your patty pan is small and cute, you won’t need to cut them up. Mine were a bit larger because I had originally thought about stuffing them with red lentils before I got sidetracked by the red curry craving.

Heat a bit of chili oil in a wok. Chili oil can be found in grocery stores or in Asian markets. If you can find it, though, fear not. Just use a light-style oil if you can’t find it. Then add in your vegetables and sauté to start the cooking process. We’ll be cooking them more, though, so five minutes is plenty to get them going.

Once your vegetables have started it’s time for the curry. Add in your curry paste along with a bit of lemongrass and fresh ginger.

My sister Rachel was there, and after kindly watching my kids for me all afternoon, she was sticking around to benefit from the curry. Skeptical of my method, she usually cooks the curry paste and the other seasonings along with the coconut milk before mixing the vegetables. I didn’t have an issue with adding them and letting them sear together in the pan before adding the liquid ingredients, and because the eggplant and patty pan needed the extra time anyway, there was no issue with vegetable texture. Coconut milk and a bit of lime juice come in.

Raw shrimp purchased already deveined and subsequently peeled by me get added to the mix to simmer.

And simmer.

Served over basmati rice, this is a dish worth talking about. It’s spicy and fresh, and I personally enjoyed how light the shrimp was in contrast to a chicken curry. If you prefer, you could definitely substitute the vegetables used here with zucchini and other summer squash and eggplant varieties. The keys here are in the sauce, and this one satisfied my Thai-food craving for at least a little while longer.

Note: The three younger kids found this too spicy, maybe because I added three Thai peppers and all of their seeds. It’s possible that could be why. Lene ate all her shrimp and the rice. Kjell ate the rice and maybe put one bite in his mouth before accusing me of trying to kill him by starting his stomach on fire. Magnus, well, let’s just say that dinner isn’t his preferred time to eat these days. It’s breakfast when he breaks that fast. That said, it’s been made again, this time without the Thai peppers on the kids’ side, and this went over much better.

The adult diners that night had no complaint, and I actually could have used a bit more heat than three Thai peppers allowed. To each their own. Experiment. Know what you like and what you can tolerate, and…maybe show some restraint when you plan on stuffing it in front of the faces of a 2-, 4- and 6-year-old. Perhaps.

We eat quite a bit of food with a Southeast Asian flare around here. Sometimes I make it; other times I seek it out and purchase it, but either way, we’re no stranger to the flavors or the fantastic smells that cooking with rice wines and vinegars, teeny, tiny chili peppers or lemongrass and ginger bring.

I was recently asked to try out Nakano’s Seasoned Rice Vinegar and to give a lucky reader the chance to do the same. I agreed, seeing that Nakano’s Natural Rice Vinegar was hanging out in my cupboard already. It seemed like a great opportunity to try what else they had to offer, and I decided to give the Red Pepper variety a spin along with some delicious scallops and a bit of lemongrass. Start by chooping up your lemongrass, ginger and peppers (wear gloves to protect yourself from the long-lasting burning that can come from chopping hot peppers).

Start by chopping up a bit of lemongrass, ginger and a Thai pepper or two depending on how hot and spicy you like your scallops.
Add your marinade ingredients to a shallow bowl or plate: rice vinegar, lemongrass, ginger, 1-2 Thai peppers, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Give your sea scallops a bath in the marinade, only 2 minutes per side. Longer marinating times with scallops can make them mushy, so don’t over-marinate.

Over medium-high heat get a bit of canola oil heating in a pan. Place the scallops in and cook for 2-3 minutes until they form a nice crust on one side.

Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the second side. Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.

De-glaze the pan by adding the marinating liquid to the pan. Continue to cook the sauce over medium heat to reduce for 5-7 minutes.

When the sauce is thick and reduced, it’s time to eat.

Serve the scallops on their own or over rice and vegetables, using the reduced sauce to pour over the top. These were delicious and the perfect complement to the red Thai curry we served them alongside (recipe to follow). So, while you’re waiting for me to get going on that recipe, I hope you enjoy this one, and a little giveaway to go along with it.

All in all, I love the idea of the seasoned rice vinegars, but I have to say I’ll stick to the Nakano Natural variety. I’m a purist, and ingredients that read: “rice vinegar, water” are just what I am looking for, no sugar or other sweeteners needed.

Enter the Giveaway:

One winner will receive a $25 Visa Gift Card and bottle of Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar to try, along with a coupon and recipe booklet for even more ideas.
1. Tell me what your favorite recipes with rice vinegar are. If you haven’t used it before, tell me which ones you’ve seen that have caught your eye.

2. Follow @FoodforMyFamily on Twitter and tweet the following. Then come back and let me know you’ve tweeted!
Enter to win a $25 Gift Card and bottle of Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar from @FoodforMyFamily: http://bit.ly/9E1UUv
3. Join the Food for My Family community on Facebook. I’ve been working on asking reader questions and looking for feedback, so it’d be great to have your input there as well!


Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, 9/10. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and notified by email. In the event that the winner doesn’t respond to the email within 48 hours, I’ll choose a new winner.

Disclosure: I was given the Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar for this recipe and compensated for my review. The opinions expressed are my own.