Thai Shrimp Curry

Level 1: ngmi (4 servings)

Start by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium in a large skillet.

Add and cook 3 tablespoons of red or green curry paste and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Next stir in

• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

• 2 large shallots or ½ medium onion, sliced thin

• 2 minced garlic cloves

Cook until just starting to soften, about 4 minutes, scraping the browning curry paste off the pan.

Congrats. Your kitchen smells amazing.

Now stir in:

• One 13½-ounce can coconut milk

• 1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce, to taste

• 1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar

No fish sauce? Try adding soy sauce instead.

Bring everything to a simmer and add:

• 1½ pounds shell-on shrimp, peeled and deveined

Cook until the shrimp are firm and pink, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in:

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• (15 Thai basil leaves)

Taste and add salt, more fish sauce, or more lime as desired.

Serve with

• Cooked white rice

• Chopped cilantro

How to make Thai curry paste

You will need:

• Mortar and pestle

• Salt

• Cumin seed and coriander seed

• Shrimp paste or fish sauce (1/4 tsp shrimp paste = 1/2 tbsp fish sauce)

• Lime skin

• Coriander root

• Lemongrass

• Garlic

• Shallot

• Dried chili

Step 1: dry ingredients

Combine:

• 1/4 tsp cumin seed

• 1/4 tsp coriander seed

• pinch of salt

Grind in the mortar until powdered. Smells nice.

Step 2: garlic and shallot

Crush, roughly chop and add to the mortar:

• 6 garlic cloves

• shallot

Step 3: coriander root and lemongrass

Next chop and add

• coriander root (length of your index finger).

• 1 tbsp of lemongrass (only the white part)

Step 4: zest

Peel off a strand of lime skin, chop fine and add to the mortar.

Step 5: heat

Soak your dried chili in water, squeeze out the moisture and cut with scissors right into the mortar. The more chili you add, the hotter it becomes.

Step 6: 🐟

Add a 1/4 tsp of shrimp paste OR a 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce.

Step 7: work out

Pound everything with the pestle until your paste is smooth like peanut butter.

Pro Tip: keep your face away and cover the mortar with your other hand.

Good luck!!!

PS - like peanut butter, it can be a little chunky if you prefer