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Crispy Fried Shrimp with Green Herb Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1. 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon sugar
3. Salt
4. 1/2 cup strong Belgian-style golden ale, such as Duvel
5. 1 large egg, separated
6. 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
7. 1 quart plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8. 24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails left on
9. Green Herb Sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; stir in the ale, egg yolk, ginger and the 1 tablespoon of oil. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Let the batter stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, heat the 1 quart of oil to 360°. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg white into the batter. Dip the shrimp into the batter, one at a time, letting any excess batter drip back into the bowl. Fry the shrimp in batches over moderate heat until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve hot with the Green Herb Sauce.

Green Herb Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1. 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
2. 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3. 3 tablespoons water
4. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. 1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
6. 1 1/2 tablespoons minced chives
7. 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
8. 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
9. Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, mix the parsley with the lemon juice, water, oil, shallots, chives, thyme and cayenne. Season with salt.

So, all I can add to this is, it’s good, but Duval ale is stupidly expensive and nobody will say anything if you use something else.

Continental Drift

In the late sixties, Brian Jones became fascinated by the hypnotic sounds of Morocco’s Master Musicians of Jajouka. He dreamed of incorporating their trance-like rhythms into the Rollings Stones’ sound and thereby introducing it to the world at large. He desperately wanted the others to share this interest. While they did enjoy tripping the picturesque beauty of Morocco, and they freedom to trip that Morocco provided, they weren’t very motivated to learn more about the musical heritage. One planned road trip to Morocco resulted in Brian having a nervous breakdown while his girlfriend traipsed off with Keith. Their intermusical relationship wasn’t the same after that. It didn’t take long for Brian to become such a drug-sodden wreck he was barely allowed to enter the studio, let alone contribute ideas. Shortly, he was fired and shortly after that, he died.  He did succeed in making several recordings, but the album he produced wasn’t released until after his death. It wasn’t until many, many years later that the Glimmer Twins decided to play him a small tribute and record a song with the Master Musicians. The result is Continental Drift (Steel Wheels, 1989) one of the Stones’ most exotic offerings. In the end, by opening the minds and ears of his friends, Brian did help to popularize the native music of Morocco.