I received samples of new unique juices from Pitaya Plus. Pitaya, also called Dragon Fruit, is a fruit of a type of cactus, original to Central and South America, and now also grown in Asia. It can be red or white inside, and has a mild sweet taste, a blend between a flavor of a pear and a kiwi. It is a superfruit, containing many vitamins and nutrients, and providing many health benefits. The Pitaya Plus juices come in two flavors Pitaya-Mango and Pitaya-Lemon-Coconut Water.
As no sugar is added, the juices are not sweet at all. I found it a bit weird to taste at first but after a few sips I got used to the lack of sweetness and thought that both juices were very refreshing.
I used Pitaya-Lemon-Coconut Water juice to make our Wonton-Wrapped Shrimp. First, I marinated the shrimp in the juice (18 shrimp in about 1/2 cup juice). Then, I patted the shrimp dry, wrapped a wonton skin around each shrimp, and deep fried the wonton-wrapped shrimp in batches.
Meanwhile, I made the "Dragon Fire" sauce. I combined a bottle of Pitaya-Lemon-Coconut Water juice, 1/4 cup mirin, and a tablespoon of tamari sauce in a small saucepan. I also added 1 dried Ghost Chili pepper, the hottest chile pepper in the world. After the mixture was reduced by 2/3 and then I swirled in butter. Then I blended the mixture in a food processor and strained it. The sauce was complex in flavor profile, and it was very spicy. To make this sauce a little less spicy, use only 1/2 of the chile or even less. Junior liked the slightly sweet and tangy taste of the sauce without any spice added at all. This was a delicious dish to serve for a Friday night dinner.
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