Description
Tamarind shrimp highlights the flavour balance Thai cuisine is known for. Juicy shrimp are tossed in a sweet-salty-sour sauce, topped with fried shallots and served with rice. It's a quick and simple dish that comes together very quickly!
Ingredients
- 2 small shallots, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cilantro roots or 5-6 cilantro stems
- 2 Thai chilies, or to taste
- 250 g (9 oz) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ cup (120 ml) chicken stock or water
- 3 Tablespoons (35 g) chopped palm sugar
- 1½ Tbsp (22.5 ml) fish sauce
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) 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, store bought or homemade
- Cilantro leaves for garnish
- Fried dried chilies 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. You can just pour the shrimp onto a plate, but for a more elegant presentation, remove the shrimp, leaving the sauce behind, and set them aside. 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 cilantro and fried chilies, if using. Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!