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Spicy Shrimp Endive Spears

Red and yellow endive spears filled with diced shrimp in a gochujang sauce and topped with furikake.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams

A bag of frozen cooked shrimp is my trick to hosting made easy. Once thawed, they can be chopped and mixed into a gochujang-spiced mayo, which recalls the taste of your go-to sushi roll. But instead of serving the shrimp salad over rice, I spoon it onto a crunchy leaf of ever so slightly bitter endive—a vegetable built for snacking—and shower the whole thing with festive furikake. The key is to ensure the defrosted shrimp are dry, dry, dry: Dry them before cutting them into bite-size pieces, then dab them once more before incorporating the sauce ingredients. Chill for no more than an hour or so or you'll risk the sauce getting thinned out and watery.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    6–8 servings

Ingredients

¼ cup mayonnaise (preferably Kewpie)
1 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
¼ tsp. toasted sesame oil
Pinch of kosher salt
1 12-oz. bag frozen cooked peeled and tail-off shrimp, thawed
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 large heads of endive, leaves separated
Furikake (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mix ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp. gochujang, ¼ tsp. toasted sesame oil, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine. Thoroughly pat one 12-oz. bag frozen cooked peeled and tail-off shrimp, thawed, dry with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Cut into ¼" pieces and add to bowl with mayonnaise sauce along with 1 scallion, thinly sliced. Mix well to coat, then cover shrimp salad and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

    Step 2

    Uncover shrimp salad and stir well to recombine. Place a small spoonful of shrimp salad on 2 large heads of endive, leaves separated, and arrange on a platter; sprinkle with furikake.

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