Coconut Shrimp Curry

Coconut Shrimp Curry served over jasmine rice. Flavorful, delicious and with just the right amount of heat. You can also use this for chicken or veggies! You are going to love this!

I can’t believe this summer is halfway over. It’s been balanced with fun, rest, work and driving the kids all over town to different things. I think it’s important for mothers (parents) to still take time to do things for yourself. Read a book, watch a movie, flip through a magazine, go for a run, get a manicure, or if you have young kids, take a really long hot shower. Sometimes, it’s the little things that invigorate us.

For me, this summer, it’s been cooking, photography and playing around with light. I’ve been wanting to cook with more seafood and shrimp seemed easy enough. I purchased frozen, raw, uncooked peeled and deveined shrimp. It’s cheaper than buying fresh shrimp and it works just the same and tastes great.

I’ve been wanting to experiment with different ingredients as well so when I saw this recipe on NY Times Cooking, I knew I wanted to give it a try. The tamarind paste intrigued me. “The tamarind tree produces pod-like fruit that contains an edible pulp used in cuisines around the world. The fruit pulp is edible. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is considered by many to be too sour, but is often used as a component of savory dishes, or as a pickling agent.” For this recipe, I would say buy the tamarind paste. It’s thick and looks like maple syrup.

I found some at Whole Foods. .  if you can’t find it, a  popular alternative is lime juice or even white wine or brown rice vinegar.

I made this dish 5 times. Each time, trying something new and varying the level of spiciness. My kids even ate the medium spicy version!

The NY Times recipe adds coriander seeds, mushrooms, cayenne and fresh curry leaves. I did make the recipe exactly but felt like the flavors were a little off. Something was missing, there wasn’t enough heat.  .  This is the recipe to try. My recipe, with the help of Anne Herzberg, my new intern (who is AMAZING). It was Anne’s idea to add fish sauce. .  this fish sauce adds that certain something  . . umami. .  and makes this Coconut Shrimp Curry  .  perfect.

Want to keep it low carb? Instead of brown or jasmine rice, use cauliflower rice! I hope you give this recipe a try! Here are more cauliflower rice recipes you may enjoy! Mexican cauliflower rice and Korean Style Cauliflower Rice.

Print Recipe

Coconut Shrimp Curry

This recipe also works for chicken or vegetables! *You can also use coconut milk. I found that the coconut cream yielded a creamier sauce.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Main

Servings: 4

Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Ingredients

• 1 pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 to 3 serrano chiles finely diced (depending on desired heat level)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 to 2 cups coconut cream canned*
• Fresh mint leaves and cilantro leaves for garnish
• Lime wedges for garnish

Instructions

• Place prepped shrimp in a medium bowl, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, ground cumin, tamarind paste, fish sauce and serrano chiles, and mix to coat well. Let sit and marinate for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Heat coconut oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer within the pan and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the shrimp over and add the coconut cream and mix together. Start with 1 cup of coconut cream and add another cup if needed*. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, or until shrimp have turned pink.
• Taste sauce and adjust seasoning if needed. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the mint and cilantro and serve, with lime wedges on the side. Serve over brown or jasmine rice or cauliflower rice. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The NY Times Cooking website