Shrimp Curry with Coconut Milk

This shrimp curry with coconut milk is a one-skillet recipe that’s easy to prepare and it adds an exotic flair to an evening meal.

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Shrimp Curry with Coconut Milk Recipe

Since we moved away from the big city it’s been hard to find restaurants with good Indian food. I especially miss curry sauce and I assumed it was difficult to make. I also thought I might have to find a specialty store to buy the ingredients. But the ingredients for this easy shrimp curry are readily available. When it’s ready to serve, it’s so attractive and delicious that friends and family will think that you slaved away for hours.

Ingredients Needed

The ingredients you’ll need are:

• Shrimp — use fresh, frozen, or pre-cooked shrimp. Look for the ones that have the shells and tails off to cut down on your prep time.
• Green Onions — chop off the roots at the tip and slice them into rounds.
• Red Bell Pepper — thinly slice about half a cup. These red bell pepper slices soak up the small amount of sugar in the curry sauce. This makes for a slightly sweet, tart blast of flavor every time you bite into one.
• Spinach — use bagged spinach. A typical bag weighs about six ounces and I used half a bag in this recipe. It cooks up quickly in the hot sauce.
• Coconut Milk — I use canned, regular coconut milk. It gives the coconut curry sauce a creamy texture.
• Ginger — you have a few options here. You can buy fresh ginger and grate it yourself, use pre-grated ginger, or even ground, dry ginger. I use pre-grated ginger that comes in a jar. It has plenty of ginger flavor without the hassle of grating it.
• Soy Sauce — adds all the salt you need in the sauce. Use tamari sauce to make the sauce gluten-free.
• Coconut Sugar — gives the sauce a bit of sweetness. If you don’t have coconut sugar, brown sugar works well.
• Red Curry Paste — use the type that comes in a jar. Thai Kitchen is available in most grocery stores.
• Lime Juice — squeeze juice from fresh lime or use the juice that’s available in the produce section in small bottles. The tart lime juice brings out the flavors in the sauce.
• Cumin, Coriander, and Ground Cardamom — use these dry spices in the sauce. Along with the red curry paste, these spices give the sauce its curry flavor.
• Water — thins the sauce without diluting it.

How to Make Shrimp Curry with Coconut Milk

This curry sauce comes together in about 30 minutes. If you plan to serve it over rice, get the rice going first so it will be ready when the sauce is done.

• Thaw the shrimp according to package instructions or use fresh shrimp.
• Slice the bell pepper and onions and set them aside.

• Measure the spinach and set it aside.

• Mix the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl.

• You can skip this step if you use pre-cooked shrimp. Add about a tablespoon of olive or sunflower oil to a skillet and sauté the shrimp for about two minutes on each side. They’ll be nice and pink when they’re done.

• When the shrimp are done, place them in a dish and set them aside while you sauté the bell peppers and onion for about 3-5 minutes.

• Add the sauce mix to the skillet and stir on medium heat until it just starts to bubble.
• Stir in the raw spinach and the cooked shrimp.
• Heat the sauce until the spinach is cooked, about three minutes.

Tips and Tricks to Make the Best Shrimp Curry in Coconut Milk

• Use cooked, frozen shrimp — this saves a lot of time and it still tastes delicious. Buy the frozen, shelled, tail-off variety.
• Meal prep — cut up the bell pepper and onions ahead of time and place them in a container in the fridge. You can do this a day ahead of time and grab them when you’re ready to make the recipe.
• Herb toppings — Pinch off some cilantro leaves and sprinkle them on top of the shrimp curry before serving.
• Freeze leftovers — you can freeze shrimp curry, but it’s best to keep the freezer time to less than three months. After that, the vegetables start to soften and they won’t be as tasty. The coconut milk might be more grainy after it thaws, but it still tastes good.

What is the Best Rice for Shrimp Curry?

I used brown rice because that’s my favorite type of rice. It has a nutty taste and a chewy texture that works well with this sauce. But, basmati rice or plain white rice will work too. When you decide on what type of rice to use, it’s best to keep it simple. The purpose of the rice is to absorb the tasty curry sauce. You don’t want to choose a type of flavored rice that will compete with the sauce.

What is Shrimp Curry?

Shrimp curry just means shrimp in a curry sauce. As with many recipes, the protein is named first. (Think Beef Stroganoff and so on.) The real question is, what is curry?

Curry is a term that gets used a lot, but it can be vague. Before I knew much about cooking, I thought curry was one spice, like oregano, but curry is a combination of spices and seasonings. It can be specific to a region or a combination of seasonings from different cuisines. Typically, when you grind spices into a powder, they are categorized as Indian curries whereas a wet curry paste is considered Thai curry. But it’s common to mix things up and have combinations that are not strictly Indian or Thai. The curry sauce in this recipe is a mix. For more info on curry, go here.

Alternatives to Shrimp

Don’t pass on this recipe if you’re not a fan of shrimp. This recipe works great with chicken, salmon, or even baked tofu.

Perfect Pairings

Serve this shrimp curry with coconut milk with a side of naan. Pick up a package in the bakery section of your grocery store and toast it or microwave it before serving. It not only tastes great, but it’s also perfect for soaking up the last bit of curry left in your bowl.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

If you like shrimp, you might enjoy veggie shrimp pasta salad or tangy pasta with shrimp.