In our Mita neighborhood, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, there's a fish truck that parks in front of the Za Sakaya, a shop selling alcohol and discounted imported snacks. The fish guy turns on his loud speaker that blasts a catchy song, "Kawaii, kawaii, sakanaya-san..." (literally translated as: cute, cute, fish seller...), his version of the noren stating "Open for Business." Because of construction of a massive, 36-story, luxury high-rise apartment building in his area of business, he has had to relegate his selling to another area, but he reassures me he will return to our Mita neighborhood once construction has finished. Which is soon.

The other day, when I bought my usual miso marinated cod, he also had humongous shrimp for sale. My daughter is not a shrimp fan so I don't usually make it, but since she's now away at school, I bought some thinking they would be terrific grilled. And they were. Succulent and spicy with just the right amount of char. My kind of wonderful!

Spicy Marinated Shrimp

I like to keep the shells on the shrimp when grilling. It's messy to eat, but that's part of the fun. Needless to say, this is not fancy dinner party fare!

7 jumbo shrimp

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

1 tablespoon sake

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon chopped parsley or coriander

With the shells intact, slit the back of the shrimp in order to remove the vein. Wash and drain the shrimp. Mix all the other ingredients together in a shallow pan and place the shrimp in the mixture. Coat the shrimp evenly and cover the dish with plastic wrap to marinate for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator. Take the shrimp out of the fridge about 1-2 hours prior to cooking to bring back to room temperature. Heat the grill over medium high flames and place shrimp on the grill. Cover and barbecue for about 3- 5 minutes and turn over to grill for another 2 minutes or so. The shrimp should be blackened just a bit, curled up and firm to the touch.