Curried Coconut Thai Shrimp with a Mango-Papaya Salad

I need a bigger kitchen. Seriously, despite having a massive kitchen for an apartment, I am utterly and completely out of cabinet and other storage space. Don't architects know that I need to store a dozen types of oil, a dozen vinegars, and a vast array of cooking wines and sauces? I mean, what's a chef to do?

My forays into Asian food are delicious, exciting, and often surprisingly simple to prepare, but they do feature a number of new ingredients. I often find myself scouring the aisles at my local groceries, trying to find the exact type I want. Unfortunately, D.C. lacks an Asian market, so I have to depend upon my Giant and Whole Foods. Luckily, this dinner makes it easier! You'll need a good fish sauce, a staple to most Asian cuisine, but that's about it. And if you can't even locate fish sauce, well, good luck trying to cook much of anything from China, Japan, Thailand, or any other neighboring nation! If you can find it, invest in the better quality one and whip out that wok to start cooking.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 50 min
Cost: $30.08



Mango-Papaya Salad
Time: 30 min

Ingredients:
1 c cubed (1/2") peeled papaya
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1 c cubed (1/2") peeled mango
1/2 c bean sprouts
1 tbsp green onions, diced
1.5 tbsp lime juice
1.5 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, diced
2 tbsp fresh mint, diced

(this recipe is based upon a similar one from Cooking Light)

While this recipe doesn't take all that long to make, I like to do it first so that you're not running short on time when it comes to chopping. Besides, this way the salad can set and flavors can mix while you cook everything else.

The only time-consuming part of this recipe is the chopping. So start by washing, peeling, and prepping the contents of your salad: papaya, cherry tomatoes, mango, green onions, cilantro, and mint. In fact, as you are chopping you can go ahead and toss all but the herbs into a bowl together. Keep the cilantro and mint separate (but they can mix with each other) for now.

Add the bean sprouts to the bowl with papaya, mango, tomatoes, and green onion. Toss to mix.

In a separate small bowl combine the lime juice, fish sauce, and honey. Whisk to combine and then drizzle over the fruits. Toss the fruits to ensure that they are evenly coated. Sprinkle on the cilantro and mint and toss again.

Set aside to sit for 30-45 min, ideally, for flavors to set but if needed you could eat immediately. (It can also be stored longer in an airtight container in the fridge.)

Curried Coconut Thai Shrimp
Time: 20 min

Ingredients:
1.5 c uncooked basmati or jasmine rice
1 tsp sesame oil
3/4 c onion, diced
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 lb rock shrimp (peeled, deveined, etc.)
1 can low-fat coconut milk
2 tsp fish sauce
1/3 c green onions, diced
1 tbsp fresh basil, diced

First, follow the directions to get your rice cooking. That will take the longest and you want to serve your shrimp curry over it.

Next, we'll move on with the shrimp. I recommend using rock shrimp but if they are not available you can substitute regular shrimp. If you do that, remove the tails first and chop them in half so that the pieces are small and bite-sized, as rock shrimp would be.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok over medium high heat, swirling to coat. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring just often enough to keep from burning or sticking to the pan. Sprinkle on the curry powder and sugar. Stir to combine well and saute another minute.

Then, add the shrimp. Rock shrimp are tiny and therefore cook quite quickly, so stir fairly frequently but let them saute a bit as well. Cook for about 3 minutes, flipping the shrimp to cook evenly on all sides. After 3 minutes the shrimp should be nearly fully cooked - if not cook another minute or two until they are just about done.

Pour in the coconut milk. Add the fish sauce. Stir to mix and heat for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are fully done and the coconut milk is warmed. Make sure it's quite warm before turning off the stove.

Stir in the green onions and basil and serve over the rice.