Spice Central
One of my top comfort foods has to be curry. There’s so many different kinds of curry throughout the world, and all of them incorporate so many spices and aromatic ingredients. It’s almost like soup but with more substance and robust flavors. Curries are also great way to incorporate proteins and vegetables into a meal. It’s so fun because, once you have a curry ready, you can easily swap out the proteins and veggies you want to use. So today, I have a delicious, yet simple, Creamy Turmeric Shrimp Curry! Spiced shrimp cooked and served with a creamy, golden turmeric curry.
Because we live in a melting pot of a country, basic curry paste flavors are fairly accessible at grocery stores nowadays. Certain flavors can still be tricky to find if you don’t go to a specialty grocery store or they need to be made from scratch. However, with this recipe, you don’t have to worry about finding a specific curry paste because our key spices are turmeric and curry powder, which are commonly found in the spice aisles. These spices are great because turmeric and curry powder already carry so much flavor, so they easily liven up this dish!
All the Aromatics
Starting with our shrimp, we’re going to marinate it in a bowl with garam masala, oil, salt, and black pepper. Garam masala is composed of multiple spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, black pepper, and star anise. These flavors go hand in hand with the turmeric and the spices in the curry powder, which make it a great seasoning for the shrimp. Once everything is combined, set it aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
In the meantime we’re going to fry our shallots. I know crispy fried shallots may seem a little extravagant or like an unnecessary additional step. However, they’re quick and easy to make and add such a great onion flavor to the dish. Add the sliced shallot rings and oil into a small pan. Heat it until it comes to a bubble then lower the heat. Fry until the shallots turn golden brown and crispy. Make sure to work quickly at this step because, once they start browning, they can burn quickly. Drain the fried shallots from the oil and allow them to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Set them aside and they’re done!
After the shrimp has marinated, heat a large pan over high heat. Add in a bit of vegetable oil followed by the shrimp. Sear the shrimp on both sides until golden brown on the outside. This process helps to really lock in the flavors of the garam masala onto the outsides of the shrimps. At this point, they don’t have to be fully cooked, so once they’re seared, remove them from the pan.
Next, sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger in the same pan with some more oil. Mix in the turmeric and curry powder and allow it to cook for 30 seconds. This allows the spices to release their oils, activating the flavors.
Consistency is Key
One quality that I look for in my curry is a creamy and slightly thick consistency. I love a good, creamy curry that has a little viscosity to it. It’s one of my pet peeves when I order curry and it’s too watery. In my opinion, curry should have the proper thickness so you can pour it over rice and have it perfectly coat the granules. The curry shouldn’t be so thin that it runs through the granules of rice. So when I concocted this Creamy Turmeric Shrimp Curry recipe, I had to make sure that the consistency was up to par! In the past, I would often use a combination of coconut milk and broth to make curry. After more experimentation, I realized that coconut milk is really all you need to get that creamy and thick consistency.
Now, we’re going to mix in coconut milk, sambal oelek, and brown sugar. Sambar oelek is an Indonesian chili sauce made from a variety of chilies, garlic, ginger, palm sugar, and shrimp paste. I love using sambal oelek, because it feels like a secret weapon ingredient. Specifically with recipes like this Creamy Turmeric Shrimp Curry, sambal oelek is a great product because the combination of ingredients in it give a dish so much more depth and umami flavor.
Add the seared shrimp back into the pan and let the coconut milk come to a bubble. Simmer the shrimp in the curry for about 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Finally, mix in fish sauce and lime juice. When working with southeast Asian curries, I love using fish sauce and lime juice as a seasoning replacement for salt. Fish sauce is salty and the acidity of lime juice slightly mimic saltiness while also adding a tangy flavor. These two ingredients bring another layer of salty, umami flavor to the dish whereas salt would not.
Quick and Easy Weeknight Meal
I still always like to taste my curry for seasoning, and once that’s to your liking, you now have a delicious Creamy Turmeric Shrimp Curry! The turmeric really goes a long way to make the curry that beautiful golden color. This recipe is a great balance of salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy. The fish sauce adds a savory and salty fIavor, the lime juice adds acidity, and the brown sugar balances those flavors with its sweetness. I wouldn’t say that this curry is necessarily spicy, but more so full of spice. This recipe is creamy, flavorful, and came together so easily. It’s a great dish to add to your rotation of weeknight meals to liven the week up. Let me know if you try it out and how you like it!
Creamy Turmeric Shrimp Curry
Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- ¾ lb. Raw Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- ½ Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
For the Crispy Fried Shallots
- 1 Shallot (thinly sliced into rings)
- As Needed Vegetable Oil (for frying)
For the Turmeric Curry
- ½ Red Onion (sliced)
- 3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- ½ Tbsp Minced Ginger
- 2 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsp Curry Powder
- 1 (13.5 oz.) Can Coconut Milk
- 2½ tsp Sambal Oelek
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1½ Tbsp Lime Juice
- 2 tsp Fish Sauce
- Cilantro Leaves (for garnish)
- White Rice (for serving)
- Lime Wedges (for serving)
Instructions
For the Shrimp:
- Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix. Set it aside to allow the shrimp to marinate for about 15 minutes.
For the Crispy Fried Shallots
- Add about 1 inch of the vegetable oil into a small pan or sauce pot along with the shallots. Heat over medium high heat until the shallots start to bubble. Decrease the heat to low and cook until the shallots turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Be careful, the shallots will start to burn very quickly! Drain the shallots from the oil and place them onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain and cool. Set aside.
For the Turmeric Curry
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil you used to fry the shallots in a pan over medium high heat. Add in the marinated shrimp and cook until lightly seared on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. The shrimp does not need to be fully cooked inside yet. Remove the shrimp from the pan.
- Pour in another tablespoon of shallot frying oil then add in the red onion. Saute until the onion starts to turn translucent then add in the garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute. Mix in the turmeric and curry powder and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the coconut milk and mix until well combined. Add in the sambal oelek and brown sugar then mix until incorporated.
- Place the shrimp back into the pan along with any juices. Decrease the heat to medium and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the shrimp are fully cooked and the curry has slightly thickened. Mix in the lime juice and fish sauce. Taste for seasoning then top with cilantro leaves and crispy fried shallots. Serve with rice and lime wedges. Enjoy!
