Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sweet and Sour Thai Shrimp

Sweet and Sour Thai Shrimp

This is a quick stir-fry recipe which takes on the character of a stew with a satisfying broth at the end. As long as you chop all your vegetables the night before it only takes 10 minutes to cook the following day.

This is nothing like a Chinese sweet and sour recipe. The aromatic kaffir leaves and coconut milk  give this dish an authentic Thai flavour. That said, Kaffir leaves are a speciality item and when I run out of them I have already decided that a quick trip to my patio for some freshly cut lemongrass (locally called fevergrass) will suffice until my next trip to the gourmet shop.


Sweet and Sour Thai shrimp
recipe adapted from here

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

SERVES 4
3/4 lb. shrimp  (shells left on or removed )
MARINADE: 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce + 1 tsp. brown sugar

1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb-size piece ginger, grated or sliced up fine
6 Tbsp. dry white wine or white vinegar
1/2 carrot, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. lime juice
4 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 to 1 ½ cups pineapple chunks, fresh or canned
1 1/2. corn starch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. water


Preparation:

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over the shrimp. Toss to coat and set aside.

Place 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the garlic and ginger 1-2 minutes. Add a little wine or vinegar.

Add the carrot and stir fry until tender. Add the green pepper and stir-fry 1 minute. Add wine or vinegar as needed to keep ingredients frying nicely.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the lime leaves, tomato, coconut milk, honey, lime juice, oyster sauce sauce. Stir well to combine.

Add the shrimp and pineapple chunks. Simmer 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink and plump.

Add the cornstarch dissolved in water and stir well. Simmer 1 more minute, or until the sauce has thickened.

Taste-test the dish, adding more honey (or brown sugar) if you prefer it sweeter. If you prefer more of a tang add more lime juice or vinegar


Photobucket

13 comments:

  1. Yummy..... I guess I can't just use our lime tree leaves?....or can I? :0) Silly question!

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  2. I am a huge fan of shrimp and this is such a beautiful recipe with bright thai & chinese flavors..love it!

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  3. @bellibabies There are no silly questions in fact this is the first thing I wondered when I first heard about kaffir lime leaves. Kaffir lime leaves have a distinctive flavour so regular lime tree leaves won't work. I got mine at Malabar Farms. They were expensive so I'm on the look out for some seeds to plant my own tree:-)

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  4. Absolutely Yummy, my dear!There is just nothing to beat Asian food!

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  5. That's a lovely dish. It looks delicious with great flavours in it. Love to try this out.

    http://spoon-and-chopsticks.blogspot.com/

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  6. Thank you very much and a nice evening. See you soon!

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  7. This looks super tasty. I adore Thai food. I've had something like this at restaurants but haven't made it at home. You're making me hungry here.

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  8. Ooooo...nice and quick...a perfect summertime dish. Looks lovely.

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  9. Lovely pic and the shrimps look very tasty. Drooling!!

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  10. I am huge Thai food fan and this is looking so delicious!

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  11. I love American food without complications, photos avocado here call it "avocado" left me in another world, extraordinarily beautiful photos, I think you're a great chef, your working perfect, warm hugs.

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