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Tamarind Shrimp กุ้งผัดมะขาม (goong pad makam)
- Yield: Serves 3
Ingredients
- 2 small shallots, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cilantro roots or 5-6 stems
- 2 Thai chilies
- 250g large shrimp
- ½ cup chicken stock or water
- 3 Tbsp chopped palm sugar (35g)
- 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
- 3 Tbsp Thai tamarind paste, store bought or homemade (what is tamarind?)
- ¼ cup red and green chilies, sliced into rounds or julienned (e.g. jalapenos, serranos, fresnos, spur chilies, or red and green bell peppers)
- Fried shallots, optional, but recommended (see recipe)
- Fried dried chilies for garnish (optional)
- Cilantro for garnish (optional)
- Jasmine rice for serving
Instructions
Pound garlic, shallots, cilantro roots and Thai chilies in a mortar and pestle into a rough paste. Alternatively, process into a rough paste in a small food processor.
In a wok or a sauté pan, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat (if you’re making fried shallots, you can use the leftover shallot oil). When oil is hot, add shrimp and sear until browned. Flip and sear the other side. Turn off the heat, remove the shrimp from pan and set aside.
If the oil has darkened in colour, start the next step with a fresh wok and fresh vegetable oil, otherwise, you can use the same wok. Over medium low heat, add the herb paste and saute until aromatic and slightly browned. Add chicken stock, palm sugar, tamarind juice, and fish sauce. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved. Let sauce reduce until it is thick enough to coat the shrimp.
Add the shrimp and toss to coat in the sauce; if shrimp are not fully cooked at this point, let them cook until done. Toss in the red and green chilies, then turn off the heat. Remove the shrimp, leaving the sauce behind, and set them aside in a bowl. Pour the sauce on to the serving plate, then arrange the shrimp on top of the sauce. Top generously with fried shallots, and garnish with fried chilies and cilantro. Serve with jasmine rice.
Didi in CA
We love this quick and very tasty, delicious dish. I add an extra tablespoon of tamarind paste and more chilis and it is a favorite around here. Thank you for teaching us your culinary background with easy recipes and directions. Wow, Thai cuisine is one of the tops in the world. Thank you so much.
★★★★★
seblick
Thank you Pai for an absolutely delicious recipe. It has a beautiful balance of sweet, sour and salty, but beyond that it has a character of its own, with no ingredient dominating.
Wonderful.
★★★★★
Pailin Chongchitnant
Thank you, glad to hear!
Thada
I made a variation of this with shrimp and eggplant! I just wanted to try it even though i didn't have any cilantro or palm sugar (I used granulated monkfruit because I don't eat sugar). I also didn't bother to make the fried shallots. I had everything else. It was sooooo sour! I added some more sugar and it was very tasty! I will definitely make it again sometime when I have the cilantro. I am sure it would have been better with palm sugar but I just cannot.
★★★★
Kathrin
OMG. This was so good. I was really worried about how this would turn out as I have a variety of picky eaters at my kitchen table. I went easy on the hot peppers and added a few other veggies, but the sauce, including homemade tamarind paste were according to recipe. Just wow. I'm thinking this would be great with chicken too.
Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes with us.
★★★★★
Deepak
I'm going to make this tomorrow. Wish me luck!!
★★★★★
Bill Kalbo
I'll try the recipe tomorrow night but I wanted to let you know of a minor mistake. Your ingredient list calls for tamarind paste but the instructions calls for tamarind juice. Having lived all over Asia, I know it's supposed to be paste but some people will be confused, and good luck finding tamarind juice in the market. 😉
Nancy Davisson
Sawaddee ka Pai! Oh my goodness!! This dish was superb and reminded us of our time spent in Chiang Mai! This will be one of our family favorites. I can’t wait to try other dishes in the cookbook!! Thanks for your expertise in Thai cooking and helping me achieve those flavors that we love!!
★★★★★
Pailin Chongchitnant
Aw thank you so much!
Futile Resistance
Delicious, beautiful and a perfect way to have shrimp
★★★★★
Alisha Nguyen
Very tasty! Don't even think about making this recipe if you're not going to include the fried shallots...they MAKE the dish. And thank you Pailin for showing how to properly fry the shallots in your other recipe. Now I understand why all my previous attempts at fried shallots have turned out soggy!
★★★★★
Vicki Baughan
Simple and delicious! My entire family loved this one
★★★★★
Tim
An excellent shrimp dish! This has become my go-to recipe when someone asks for shrimp. It’s helping me sharpen my cooking skills in two ways. 1. Balancing the tart, salty, sweet flavors of the sauce; I’m learning to taste and adjust. 2. Making fried shallots or garlic as an ingredient or garnish. I used to groan when I saw that in a recipe, but the more I do it the less of a chore it becomes. Thanks, Pailin!
★★★★★