It’s warming up here and officially spring, but cooler nights still have me wanting something comforting and grounding. This shrimp curry is both of those but in a light sauce so you don’t get that I just ate a heavy bowl of pasta feel. Here we have marinated shrimp with a coconut milk sauce and lots of warm spices and fresh herbs all over rice With lots of fresh lime for freshness. Mmmm mmm yes, please.
If you’ve spent any time around here you know I love a good curry dish. I am by no means an expert on curry and I go back-and-forth between Indian curry and Thai Curry, but either way, they are one of my favorite dishes. I find them delicious and so full of flavor. They are also rather versatile because you can use lots of different vegetables and proteins.
This one in particular is a little different than the other curry dishes I make because I start by marinating the shrimp. It’s a simple marinade with lemon juice and salt and pepper but I find this gives the shrimp a lot more flavor once added to the creamy sauce rather than adding plain shrimp to the sauce.
Now for the sauce. Very similar to a lot of the other curries I make with a base of coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and seasonings like curry powder, turmeric, ginger, coriander, and garlic. Super simple ingredients that pack a lot of flavors. This all makes for a delicious sauce to go with the shrimp. Add some diced tomatoes (I like fire-roasted for more flavor), plenty of fresh lime juice, and cilantro all over a bed of rice. I like to use white rice but obviously whatever rice you prefer works. Brown rice, wild rice, even cauliflower rice. I just find jasmine rice works best at taking in the flavor and soaking up the sauce.
So what do we need for this recipe?
- Shrimp – and I like that Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s
- Fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
For the sauce :
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger – fresh suggested but ground works fine too
- Turmeric
- Coriander
- Curry powder
- Diced tomatoes – I like the fire roasted for more flavor
- Coconut milk – I prefer full fat
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh lime juice for the sauce and if you have extra, for the rice
- Rice – I suggest white rice but whatever you have works
Ingredients
Method
- Start by cooking the rice. White rice should take about 15 minutes. When it's done cooking I like to stir through a little fresh lime juice and a little cilantro. Totally optional
- While you get the rice cooking, marinate the shrimp. In a medium bowl, stir the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Toss the shrimp and set in the fridge while you get the sauce cooked.
- In a larger skillet, saute the onion with a little oil for several minutes until soft. Stir in the ginger (if using fresh) and garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in the seasonings with a large dash of salt. Stir for 30 seconds. Add the diced tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir. Bring to a boil then reduce and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens up.
- Stir in the shrimp, they only take a couple minutes to cook and turn pink. If using precooked shrimp just toss in and warm up. Stir through the cilantro and lime juice at the end.
- Serve over warm rice and enjoy!
Looking for more delicious curry recipes check out some of my other recipes below:
A little twist on a curry dish is these Red Lentil Curry Fritters. We make these quite often as they are not only delicious but simple and only require a handful of ingredients.
Another twist on curry is a soup. Here’s a Red Curry Cauliflower Soup that has loads of flavor and again, only a handful of ingredients.
Chickpea and Cilantro Curry. A sauce with loads of curry flavor and lots of freshness from cilantro that has a good protein kick from chickpeas.
A Sweet Potato and Pea Curry that is so comforting and yummy. Like a big hug full of flavor and substance.
