The MAX AC Channel #91: Lucky Lunch (Stardew Valley)

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Max AC Channel. I’ve collected a lot of cookbooks this past year and I’ve been wanting to try all of these recipes, so for this month’s theme, we will be doing another round of AniMay, where we will be making four more recipes inspired by four different animated pieces of entertainment. For this week’s episode, we will be making some Lucky Lunch from Stardew Valley.
In the comments below, let me know how it went if you decide to make it and let me know if there’s anything you want to make next. Like the video, share it with your friends and family, and subscribe to this channel for more episodes of the MAX AC Channel.
And remember, if you want to stay cool in the kitchen, turn your AC to the max and watch the MAX AC Channel.
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LUCKY LUNCH (4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 6 cups or so water for boiling
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 4 limes)
- Some kosher salt
- 12 ounces or so large or extra-large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 small red onion
- 1 small jalapeño
- 1 large or 4-5 small Persian cucumbers
- 1 cup rainbow cherry tomatoes
- 12 yellow corn tortillas
- 1 small avocado
- 3 tablespoons fresh chive greens
- Some edible flowers for garnish (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 packed cups romaine lettuce
Instructions:
1. First, set a pot of water to boil. While we wait, we’ll prepare the ingredients.
2. Mince up your garlic and finely chop up your red onions. Then for your jalapeño, cut off the stem, cut it in half, remove the seeds, and then mince this up as well. For your cucumbers, cut them so that you have 4 quarters. Then, chop up your cucumber quarters into 1/2 inch pieces. For your cherry tomatoes, cut these to create 4 quarters as well.
3. Once your ingredients are ready, your water should be boiling by now, so stir or squeeze in 2 tablespoons of the lime juice from 1-2 limes and add in 1 tablespoon of salt. Then, add in the shrimp. Cover with a lid and immediately turn off the heat. Keep the shrimp in the hot liquid until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the shrimp from the water and let it cool slightly before continuing.
4. Next, cut the shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of lime juice from the rest of the limes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the sugar, garlic, red onion, jalapeño, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Carefully stir this to combine everything, and then cover with some plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.
5. While we wait, we’ll prepare our star chips. Preheat the oven to 350°F, making sure that there’s a rack in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
6. Next, we’ll cut out our star tortillas, so grab or create a stencil out of cardboard, or freehand it. Also, make sure to keep any scraps for later.
7. Then when you’re done, divide the tortilla stars between 2 large baking sheets, brush them all over with some of the remaining olive oil, and season liberally with some salt. Bake it in the oven until it’s lightly browned in spots and crispy, about 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once and rotating the baking sheets top to bottom once after 10 minutes. Once they’re done, transfer the baked stars to a wire rack to cool and leave the oven on.
8. Next, let the baking sheets cool and we’ll repeat this to cook the scraps. Divide the tortilla scraps between the baking sheets. Brush the scraps with more of the olive oil and season liberally with salt. Bake this as well until it's also lightly browned in spots and crispy, about 15 minutes, flipping the scraps over and rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and vice versa once after 8 minutes instead since these are smaller in size. Once they’re done, transfer the scraps to the wire rack to cool completely as well.
9. When you are ready to serve the dish, we’ll prepare the rest of the ingredients, so for your avocado, cut it in half, remove the pit and then remove the flesh and dice it up into bite-sized pieces, finely mince your chives, and roughly chop up your cilantro. Then, when you’re ready, stir the avocado, chive greens, and cilantro into the shrimp ceviche. Make sure to taste for seasoning and add some more salt, if needed.
10. Then, to plate the dish, scatter one-fourth of your lettuce on a large serving plate, then drizzle with some of the shrimp marinade. Next, scoop 1/3 cup of the ceviche onto the center of the lettuce, then top with 1 star tortilla chip. Layer with another scoop of ceviche, another star tortilla chip, more ceviche, and top with the third star tortilla chip. Then, garnish with some of the edible flowers if desired. Serve immediately, with a bowl of the baked tortilla scraps alongside, and with that, your Lucky Lunch is ready to eat.
(Order a copy of the book here: stardewvalleycookbook.com)