Langostino Rice Bowls

Langostino is making its mark at restaurants, and in the grocery store, too. Imagine my surprise when I found a bag of frozen langostino at Trader Joe's last week! I scooped those up in a hurry. Langostino are a species of crustacean similar in taste to lobster, but similar in size and texture to shrimp. The tail meat comes in just the perfect bite size, ready to add to whichever seafood recipe you're craving. I've been craving a rice bowl (again), and decided to stir up this delicious concoction.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 thinly sliced green garlic or green onion
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
1 chopped jalapeno (optional)
1/2 cup quartered mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced snow peas
6 oz. frozen langostino tails
1 Tbs. hoisin sauce
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock

Directions:

Cook brown rice. Prepare the vegetables, and thaw the langostino tails while the rice cooks. Thaw the tails by submerging them in cold water, and changing the water several times. They should take about 15 to 20 minutes to completely thaw. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil along with the onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the celery, snow peas, and langostino tails, and continue cooking for another minute or so. Add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and stock, stirring to combine with the vegetable mixture. To serve, scoop about 1 cup of rice into each bowl, topping each with about half of the langostino vegetable mix.

Serves 2

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Replacing some of the hoisin sauce and soy sauce with low sodium chicken stock really cuts the sodium content in a rice bowl. Also, the flavors of the fresh vegetables and langostino will shine through, and won't be overpowered by the strong flavorings of the hoisin and soy sauce.