Thank you Super Lucky Elephant for sponsoring this post.
I love eating out. There’s just something about walking into a new restaurant and seeing the beautiful decor and smelling the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen that is so luxurious. But let’s face it, the best part is not having to cook the meal yourself, am I right?
Restaurants always have such a unique way of combining flavor profiles that I never would of thought of. And how about that plating? Goodness! Fine dining meals are a work of art and the best because they’re beautiful and delicious!
In writing a blog, one thing I’m continually striving to get better at is my plating. After all, people eat with their eyes first and if something doesn’t look appetizing, they’re not likely to want to try to make it in their own home!
So recently, I tried to make my own fancy restaurant meal at home – complete with new flavors, ingredients, and techniques. Want to see how I pulled it all together? Here we go…
I started off with Coconut Thai Hom Mali Jasmine Rice from Super Lucky Elephant. The rice comes in a sealed bag and after a 90 second cook in the microwave, it’s ready to serve! They also have another variety, Thai Hom Mali Jasmine Rice, but I really was eager to try the coconut one since I love pairing coconut and shrimp together. The rice is the traditional jasmine rice grown only in Thailand. As a Non-GMO and gluten free product, it is made with the highest quality and easily turns an ordinary dinner into something new and exciting! You can get your own Super Lucky Elephant rice here.
Since I wanted to create a restaurant quality looking meal, I brought out the cookie cutter for plating. I put the circular cutter on the middle of the plate and packed the cooked rice into the mold. After it feels pretty densely packed, remove the cookie cutter and you are left with a perfect circle of rice.
So what to put on this rice? Like I said, I wanted to go with a shrimp and rice pairing, so I marinated some shrimp with a simple citrus marinade, skewered them, and grilled them for about 2-3 minutes on each side. I then laid the skewers across the top of the rice.
Lastly, I wanted to add some more color and flavor, so I used some store-bought pesto and dripped it across the shrimp and around the plate. This meal was SO good and pretty too!
It’s so easy to make a restaurant quality meal when you have a little creativity and fun new ingredients to play with! So get out there and try something new! Experiment with new flavors and techniques and play with your food (I won’t tell your Mom).
If you’d like to see more recipes like this, follow me on Pinterest!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
