Stir-fry Shrimp (Kind of fail)

Originally called Spicy Red Shrimp Stir-Fry in the Knack Quick and Easy Cooking book, I've shortened it to Stir-fry Shrimp because I can't handle the spicy. The only thing I had changed was removing the red pepper flakes.

The recipe called for a sauce that was based from cocktail sauce and chicken broth. In continuation of the idiotic 'grabbing without looking' phase I'm in, I found out that the cocktail sauce was a spicy version.

So, I tried making my own. I looked online for the common ingredients: ketchup, horseradish, worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Small problem, no idea what horseradish is. Turns out, it's some sort of spice to add heat. The only thing I have close to that is chili powder.

In my courageous way, I decide to make my own blend of cocktail sauce. I started out by adding an even amount of everything. This a terrible idea, mostly because of the chili powder. While it was way too hot for me, I let Jeff taste it, and he enjoyed it.

I made a similar combination with less chili powder and more ketchup, and it tasted like creamy cocktail sauce. I think if I had made a ketchup-like sauce from actual tomatoes, it would have had more texture. But, I got the taste right, and that's what mattered.

The recipe uses frozen stir-fry vegetables, which work wonderfully for simplicity's sake, along with shrimp and fresh onion. Even though the frozen vegi's tate good, I'd like to experiment with a similar combination of fresh.

The only problem I had with the recipe was the aftermath; it tasted fine, but it didn't sit well in my stomach. (I have a sensitive stomach, something I may or may not discuss in a later blog.) Hense, kind of fail.