An easy and delicious shrimp stew that was adapted from a February 2008 recipe in Bon Appetit. Can be served with either white or brown rice.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
Heat peanut oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add onion and bell pepper and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the sesame oil and curry paste. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
About 3 minutes before serving, add the shrimp (and straw mushrooms if using) to the curry. Cook for 3 minutes. Shrimp should be pink and just cooked through. Stir in the cilantro.
How to cook Brown Rice in 30 minutes
Seafood stock - Make a simple seafood stock with the shrimp shells. Just add the shells to 2 cups water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and use. For a spicy stock, add 1/2 tsp. cajun spice or red chile spice.
Onion – The medium onion can be substituted with two bunches of scallions, white chopped into 1″ lengths and green tops diced. Cook the white part of the scallions with the bell pepper. Add the green tops with the shrimp and fresh herbs at the end.
Mushrooms – I normally use only fresh or frozen vegetables, but I make an exception with canned straw mushrooms. I have to admit that I’m a sucker for these mushrooms and they are my favorite with this dish. If using fresh mushrooms, crimini mushrooms are best, not just for their flavor, but for their texture as well. Notice in the recipe instructions, that the canned mushrooms are added with the shrimp, and the crimini are added after cooking the onion and bell pepper.
Thai Green Curry Paste – Thai Kitchen brand is the brand I use. There may be a better brand out there, so use what you like. Green curry paste is quite spicy; therefore, we usually use about 3 teaspoons for a medium heat and 5 teaspoons for those nights when we want it hot.
Fresh Herbs – If you don’t eat or don’t have fresh cilantro nor Thai basil, sweet basil is a good substitute.
I find that the best pot for cooking rice is a heavy pot with a glass lid. The glass lid lets you see what’s going on in the pot without lifting the lid. To test to see if the rice is done, all you have to do is tilt the pot, and if you see any liquid, it’s not done.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen