Sugarcane Shrimp

This lovely recipe comes to you from the sunny shores of Hawaii. Call the crowd, put on your flip flops, make a MiTai and enjoy this treat. These skewers of marinated barbecued shrimp are pure cocktail fun because you can eat the sugarcane skewers as well. The cane gives the shrimp a subtle sweetness and everyone loves to suck on the skewers after the shrimp are but a memory.

• Ready In: 33 mins
• Yields: 12 skewers

Ingredients

• 12  large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1⁄3 cup  freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1⁄3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1  tablespoon dark rum
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  teaspoon demerara sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  minced garlic
•  salt, to taste
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
•  minced habanero pepper (substitute jalapeà o for a milder taste)
• 24  two-inch fresh pineapple chunks
• 12  eight-inch sugarcane  skewers

Directions

1. Wash the shrimp and place them in a large bowl.
2. Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, rum, oil, sugar, and garlic in a second bowl season with salt, pepper, and habanero.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the shrimp to marinate while preheating the broiler or grill.
4. When ready, thread 1 pineapple chunk, 1 shrimp, then a second pineapple chunk on each skewer.
5. Place the skewers on a broiler pan and cook until lightly browned, turning once, 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Note: To make sugarcane skewers, wash the sugarcane stalk thoroughly. Using a sharp chef's knife, carefully cut the stalk crosswise, at a joint, into sections the length of the skewer needed. Be careful, as the cane is harder than you think. Split at the center of the core lengthwise into quarters for 4 skewers. Don't remove the outer bark; it reinforces the skewer. Sharpen the ends of the skewers into points.