This was definitely the weekend for familiar and comforting food. On a mission to not consume a single salad, I decided to throw together a dish reminiscent of my childhood.
Cooking a curry always makes me think of my mother. I'll never do it as well as she did, but I do find a certain affinity with my Asian heritage as I try to recreate and remember her dishes. I think of the creaminess of coconut milk paired with the heat of red chillies and the mellowness of steeped ginger combined with the sticky rice noodles as the ultimate in Asian-style comfort food. Throw in a few shrimp and you have yourself a little bit of luxury too!
Shrimp Curry over Rice Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 2 cups of chicken or seafood stock
- 4 spring onions
- 1/2 shallot
- Curry powder
- 1 red chili
- A piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in half - ends cut off
- 1/2 a lime
- 2T chili paste
- Vegetable oil
- Rice noodles
- 1/2 lb shrimp
Preparation
First and foremost, an absolute must when cooking with curry powder is to cook the curry powder first. Never, and I mean never just add the powder straight into your dish. Cooking it will ensure that there is no grit or chalkiness and it will also add depth of flavor. It's very simple, just coat a pan with vegetable oil and add 4-5 teaspoons of curry powder.
Stir it together for a few minutes and then add half a chopped shallot to the pan. Next dice the red chili and add that, along with just a few seeds, to the mix. Stir it all together for a few minutes then add a can of coconut milk, the stock, a cube of fresh ginger, the lemongrass and the lime and it's juice to your pot. Throw in a few pinches of salt and a teaspoon of fish sauce (optional). Simmer on a very low heat for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry together. The curry might seem a tad "thin" but once the rice noodles are added it will thicken up.
Next prepare your rice noodles per the package instructions and then cook your shrimp. Heat some oil in a skillet and season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Cook until the crustacean are opaque...about 3-5 minutes, if that. Now, add the chopped spring onions to your curry as well as the shrimp along with the chili paste. I use the Asian chili/garlic sauce in the bottle with the green top. In this recipe I only call for 2T of chili paste but truth be told I use a hell of a lot more. I love the hot, I'm predispositioned for it. Nothing makes me happier than the hot. You using more than the 2T will make me happy too. Now, let it all bubble for a few minutes.
The lemongrass and ginger are only for flavor so be sure not to serve them in your bowl.
Presentation
Place a pile of the rice ribbons in a bowl and spoon over the mellow curry sauce. Drop in the shrimp and add the final touch, a wedge of lime for flavor.
