so i posted this picture to instagram with my dad’s snarky comment about the mushy food, but in the end, he loved it. as the original recipe goes, it’s not too spicy, but you could definitely kick it up a notch or four, like i wanted to.
what you need:
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
2 tbsp butter
1lb medium shrimp
kosher salt, to taste
fresh black pepper, to taste
2 cloves of garlic, minced, or one tsp already-prepared garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 tbsp ginger, grated or finely chopped
2 tbsp red curry paste (look in asian aisle of the supermarket)
24 oz (2 cans, usually) unsweetened coconut milk
4 cups vegetable stock
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp ciltantro, chopped
what you do:
start by preparing the rice. i followed the instructions on the box. this total took about 40 minutes, so the rice was done at the same time as the soup.
in a dutch oven or large stockpot, melt the butter and then add garlic and shrimp. my shrimp came precooked, so i only cooked them for a minute to get the garlic flavour. add your red peppers, cook for about 4 minutes. the peppers should be semi soft. add the ginger, stirring until fragrant. the recipe said that’s about one minute, but i would recommend it for a bit longer, as there was hardly any ginger flavour to our soup. whisk in your curry paste until incorporated. mine was one giant clump of curry paste until i poured in the vegetable stock. stir this until fully mixed, then add your coconut milk. stir until a light tan colour and there are no clumps of coconut, about 2-3 minutes. cover and bring to a boil (be careful that it doesn’t boil over!), then let simmer for 10-15 minutes until slightly thicker. add the lime juice now and stir it in.
put desired amount of rice into bowls, then ladle the soup in. add your shrimp and cilantro on top. serve to hungry people. (i also served mine with chicken potstickers with a mango jabanero sauce and a sweet chili sauce.)
wine pairing:
as i said, this isn’t too spicy, so you can get away with a dry wine. with the ginger, curry and cilantro, i would go with a crisp sauvignon blanc. the spicier you make it, the sweeter your wine should be to complement the spice – a nice washington state riesling would be perfect (kung fu girl or similar.) enjoy!