Hot and tangy Thai shrimp in coconut sauce is best enjoyed with Jasmine rice and brings in restaurant style Thai food experience in the comfort of your home!
It’s been long that I made Thai food at home. We are quite fond of Thai food and I have prepared many Thai delicacies to satisfy our cravings for this spicy & tangy cuisine.
After a while I chanced upon this recipe of Thai shrimp in coconut sauce and immediately sealed it! I can’t be thankful enough to myself.
This Thai shrimp in coconut sauce has proved to be a mind-blowing discovery with everyone at home falling for it too badly!
Thai food has the ideal balance of sweetness, tartness and heat and this Thai shrimp in coconut sauce boasts all of it.
It has that mellow sweetness from coconut milk & brown sugar, tanginess from lemon & fish sauce and finally heat from Thai red curry paste plus sliced paprika which is my personal touch to this delicious Thai shrimp in coconut sauce.
All these amazing ingredients amalgamate together to create something unbelievably tasty!
After I decided to make this Thai shrimp in coconut sauce, I couldn’t wait for long. I had all the ingredients handy except for the coconut milk but I was not willing to make another trip to supermarket.
Luckily, I had the desiccated coconut at hand and with some quick google search, I successfully made homemade coconut milk in a jiffy.
True, it will require some extra effort, at least a little more than just opening the can of readymade coconut milk, but trust me it’s totally worth for the mind-blowing Thai shrimps in coconut sauce that you are about to make.
All you have to do is to soak the desiccated coconut in boiling water for about 20 minutes to let the dry coconut come to life. The ratio of coconut powder and water should be 1:2.
Then grind them smooth in a blender and transfer the mixture to a cheesecloth. Now squeeze out the coconut milk as much as possible by twisting the cheesecloth with all the pressure you have and voila!
You have homemade coconut milk ready to use. Just to note, that this coconut milk will be thinner than the store-bought canned version but the taste is as good as it can get.
Thai shrimp in coconut sauce is a great recipe for feeding a crowd. It comes around pretty quickly and makes enough sauce to satisfy everyone on the table. But most importantly it has shrimps which is universally loved by all.
So, this Thai shrimp in coconut sauce fits the bill perfectly without much of an effort. You can simply double the recipe if you have a larger group and it will work wonderfully.
This Thai shrimp in coconut sauce is freezer friendly too. If you do not already know, then let me tell you this (even if you do not need grated coconut in this recipe but it’s quite an useful tip!) – grated coconut can be frozen for upto 6 months and will retain all its flavor fully.
So if you have extra grated coconut, stash them in freezer and use within 6 months which I believe is long enough a shelf life. And as we all know, shrimps are freezer’s best friend!
So, here I have a great tasting dish which can freeze well too! What more can I ask for! Life is good!
- Shrimp – 250 gms, deveined and peeled with tip of tail intact
- Garlic – 6 to 8 cloves, minced
- Chili flakes – ½ tsp
- Coconut milk – 2 cups
- Fish sauce – 4 tbsp
- Lemon – 1
- Brown sugar – 2 tbsp
- ginger paste - 2 tsp
- Vegetable oil – 3 tbsp
- Onion – 1, large, thinly sliced
- Red bell pepper – ½, cut into thin long strips
- Yellow bell pepper – ½, cut into thin long strips
- Green bell pepper – ½, cut into thin long strips
- Thai red curry paste – 3 tbsp
- Sliced red paprika – 1 tbsp (optional)
- Green onion – ½ cup, chopped
- Fresh cilantro to garnish
- Salt to taste
- Take the shrimps in a bowl and add salt to taste, minced garlic and chili flakes. Mix them well and let the shrimps chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix together coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger paste and juice of 1 lemon. Whisk well and set aside.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a sauté pan with high sides. Add the marinated shrimps to it and sauté them until pink and opaque on both sides for about 4 minutes. Take them out and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan and tip in the sliced onion and bell peppers. Sauté them about 5 minutes on medium heat until they are soft and translucent.
- Pour the prepared sauce to the pan and stir to mix everything well. Let the sauce come to a boil.
- Then add the Thai red curry paste and combine thoroughly with the sauce. Check and adjust for seasoning if needed (Go low on salt as fish sauce & red curry paste is already salted.)
- Add the cooked shrimps along with all the juice and garlic to the pan. Combine well.
- Sprinkle sliced red paprika and garnish with chopped green onion and fresh cilantro. Serve the hot Thai shrimp in coconut sauce with rice. Enjoy!
Love thai food, the red curry looks delicious
Thanks! Thai food is our favorite too!