The Nation Has An Appetite: Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk

A few weeks ago, when I was planning for a long-term quarantine, I decided that at some point I'd make a red curry. But when I opened my fridge this past week I discovered that I didn't have enough curry paste and I needed to come up with a different plan. Glancing around the internet I found a few recipes that seemed like I could try for, but none for which I really had all the ingredients. And I wasn't going out for more. So here's what I came up with:

INGREDIENTS
Lots of jumbo shrimp. The bigger the better.
Olive oil
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
Salt
Crushed red pepper flakes
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can coconut milk
Juice of 1 lime
Basil (I used dried, since it was available)

Fry the garlic and ginger in hot oil, about 1 minute.
Slice the peppers and onion, add to the garlic, cook until soft - about 5 minutes.
Add the can of coconut milk* and tomatoes, salt, basil, 1/2 of lime juice, red pepper flakes, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
*I've seen it suggested that coconut milk should not be stirred up before adding it to the pan, and should be melted down and slowly mixed in as it cooks. That's what I did here and it worked really well, so it seems like that is true?
Add the shrimp, keep over heat until just cooked through.
Add the rest of the lime juice, and more red pepper flakes to taste.

I served over rice noodles and with a slice of toast (good toasted bread is perfect with this for soaking up the milk).

This definitely seemed like it could use some fresh herbs - One of the inspiring recipes called for cilantro. Maybe something with a little more crunch sprinkled over the top too, though I'm not sure what. Also, if anyone has suggestions for cooking process that would help improve this, I'd be happy to take those. I definitely plan on making this again - the shrimp came out perfect, the left-overs heated really well (no leftover shrimp... that should probably go without saying, right?), it came together really fast and easy, etc. So any improvements are appreciated!

4 thoughts on “The Nation Has An Appetite: Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk”

  1. Looks tasty!

    My first thoughts for other things to include, in addition to the cilantro suggestion: Thai basil and fish sauce.

    Some other lightly-cooked vegetable added in at the end (asparagus maybe? zucchini?) could add some crunch, too. Or, you could cook the peppers less and remove them before adding the coconut milk, so that they remain a bit crunchy, then add them back in at the very end. Some crushed peanuts could be nice, too.

    1. I think I was looking for more of a dry crunch than the veggies would give? Crushed peanuts makes perfect sense.

      Also, I feel silly, but I was going to use fish sauce and just completely spaced it. Until just now, when I read your comment. So yes. Add that!

      1. Mmmmhmmm. Nice.

        Defn fresh herbs if available. I might consider some brown sugar in early too. Sweet, salty, spicy, sour.

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