Thai Shrimp Curry

Thai Shrimp Curry, or what Dan endearingly refers to as the "Bomb Ass Shrimp Jawn",  pops up at least once every few months in our kitchen.  We LOVE it.  We love anything with curry really, and we find every excuse to eat it.  Yesterday's lazy Sunday was no exception.  

I've been preparing this recipe from Bon Appétit for a few years now, altering it every now and then or preparing it just as the directions suggest.  In either case, it has never failed us.  Yesterday we decided to mix things up a little bit by adding another fish to this spicy Thai dish.

We headed over to our wonderful fishmonger at the Reading Terminal Market, and picked up Chilean Sea Bass chunks to mingle with the shrimp.  Because we added the sea bass, we cut the pound of shrimp called for down to a half pound and it was the perfect amount for two people, with enough left over for lunch the following day.

This recipe is straight forward and incredibly easy.  I highly recommend it if you are looking for a quick and easy curry dish. 

                                          

Begin with the preparation of your shrimp by rinsing, peeling and deveining them and; set aside.  Next, prepare your vegetables- thinly slice one cup of onion and approximately 8 green onions.  Heat sesame oil (or peanut oil- whatever you have on hand) in a large, deep skillet and add onion.  (I sometimes add approximately one tablespoon of minced ginger to the mix at this point.  I forgot to buy it yesterday so this dish was sans ginger but still quite tasty.)  Once the onions have softened and begin to brown, reduce heat and add the lemongrass, green onions and curry. 

The recipe calls for one to two tablespoons of green curry.  Because Dan and I have been finding that our curry dishes have been falling short of our desired spiciness factor and because we are daring individuals, I added three heaping tablespoons to the dish and was near certain that I would have to add more.  Oh, how wrong I was.  This was the first time we've used the Maesri brand curry for this dish and I can confidently say that it packs far more heat than our old stand by, which usually requires an entire jar for one dish in order to make our taste buds happy.  The dish was delicious but it was HOT.  Dan and I were both struggling.  Next time I use the Maesri curry, I will add only two tablespoons.

Stir the curry paste and green onions until fragrant, approximately one minute.  Add coconut milk, chicken broth (you can substitute vegetable broth, if you prefer), fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.  Add tomatoes and boil for two minutes.  

At this point I prepared my noodles.  We used cellophane, or mung bean, noodles, but you could use whatever you prefer, such as rice noodles or basmati rice.  To prepare the cellophane noodles, I poured boiling water over a few handfuls of the noodles and let sit until they were softened.  I then drained them well in a colander and set aside until the meal was complete.

After your curry has come to a boil and is smelling divine, add shrimp (and in the case the chilean sea bass) and cook until shrimp is opaque in center and the sea bass is cooked all the way through.

While your fish is cooking, prepare your cilantro and lime wedge garnish.   

Spoon noodles into a bowl and pour curry on top.  Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges (or whatever you prefer) and enjoy!  We paired this meal with a Gewurztraminer from the Finger Lakes and 500 Days of Summer.  Though the wine enhanced the heat of the dish, it was a delicious pairing and the perfect ending to a lazy Sunday.

Note: 
This recipe to could be altered in many ways.  The fish could be eliminated entirely and more vegetables, or even chicken, added in its place.  The original recipe calls for two pounds of shrimp.  If you intend to serve this to more than two people I would consider upping the amount of  shrimp. 

Also, though the Chilean Sea Bass was delicious, I don't think I will add it to this dish again.  Chilean Sea Bass is severely over fished and is listed as "avoid" on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list.  Had I checked the list before hand I would never have included it.

Thai Shrimp Curry

adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 cup thinly sliced onion

1 cup sliced green onions (approx. 8)
1 three inch piece of lemongrass, halved and then quartered lengthwise 

1 to 2 Tablespoons Thai green curry paste (... we used three. three heaping.)

1 14 oz. can of unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup of low salt chicken broth

3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup diced plum tomatoes

1/2 uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound Chilean sea bass chunks

Chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

Heat sesame oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion; stir-fry until soft and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add green onions and curry paste; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, and sugar; bring to boil. Add tomatoes and boil 2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook just until opaque in center, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Transfer curry to large shallow bowl. Garnish with cilantro. Serve, passing lime wedges separately.