Hello friends, it feels like forever.
We’ve had an active spring filled with travel, family visits, work and play. Life has been full and generous and mostly fun with some bitter sweet moments along the way, all part of the course of life and the inescapable realities of moving our family to a different country. Living so far away hurts sometimes.
I hope to share some of these moments with you in upcoming posts – including a few highlights from a recent nutrition conference in Portland, Oregon (completely smitten with the city of roses) – but for today, a recipe I first spotted over on my beautiful Brazilian blogging friend’s Rio Olympics Gold Medal Menu. Sally’s golden shrimpies caught my attention right away and this is my interpretation of her delightful stew.
Piquant shrimp bathed in a cooling and delicious coconut-tomato sauce infused with ginger, lime and cilantro. Heaven on a fork.
Once you have your mise en place, you will sail through the steps of this straightforward preparation and have this summer fresh dinner on the table in about 30 minutes (although my aunt tells me I underestimate time on my recipes, so maybe… 31). Serve it up any way you like – with a grain to sop up the sauce or, my typical preference, on a bed of colorful cabbage (or a little of both!) whatever works best for you.
The original recipe does call for some heat so if that’s not your thing, simply omit it – there is plenty going on here in terms of flavor and taste sensation already. But for those of us who do enjoy a kick, this recipe delivers without overwhelming (or numbing the tongue) and you can choose your heat level and preference (more in Notes).
Among my biggest garden thrills has been growing my own jalapeno peppers – below is the first one that came through in our little starter box – I then transplanted the plant into the ground and it grew significantly and produced dozens of chiles – they were hot, hot, hot!
I hope you enjoy this recipe ~ the Notes in the recipe card below will provide further information and guide you to best results.
Welcome Summer ♥
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 2 medium size orange bell peppers, cubed
- 15 oz (or so) fresh sun gold tomatoes (the miniature ones)
- Juice of one lime (plus another lime for garnish)
- 1 Tbsp peeled and grated ginger root
- 1 cup whole fat coconut milk
- 1+1/4 lb large shrimp in shell, peeled and deveined
- Bunch of fresh cilantro leaves
- Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
- Sauté onion, garlic and hot pepper (if using) with some coconut oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat just until beginning to soften (about 6 minutes) - stir in bell pepper and sauté for another couple minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside. Using the same skillet, add a little more coconut oil, increase heat and flash sauté shrimp for about 30 seconds with some salt and pepper (the shrimp should not be cooked through at this point - you are merely sealing in juices with a little sear) - transfer shrimp to onion mixture.
- Meantime, in a food processor, combine: fresh tomatoes, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp lime juice, a handful of fresh cilantro leaves (with or without stems) and a generous pinch salt & pepper -process to combine (it's fine if there are still some tomato chunks but you can also pulse until smooth as desired). Transfer tomato mixture to the same skillet, add ginger and coconut milk - bring to a gentle simmer and allow the sauce to reduce for about 10 mins.
- Transfer reserved onion/garlic/pepper/shrimp mixture to skillet stirring to combine and allowing mixture to heat and the shrimp to cook through (this will only take a minute or two). Adjust seasonings as desired - serve warm shrimp with sauce over rice (or as preferred) and top with a few more sprigs of fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.
Heat level - both jalapeno and serrano peppers are considered moderate heat/spiciness on the Scoville scale however heat perception/tolerance is a very personal thing and peppers can also vary in terms of pungency even within the same class so proceed with caution; start with a smaller amount if uncertain or consider using red chili pepper flakes if that is more familiar.
Coconut Oil - the coconut oil really adds delicious taste to this recipe - I encourage its use here however if not possible, olive oil will work.
Coconut Milk - be sure that your full fat coconut milk is well mixed before measuring out your cup as saturated fats do tend to separate (a bit like natural peanut butter).
Shrimp - I typically use jumbo shrimp for this recipe - somewhere in the range of 1+1/4 lb to 1+1/2 lb.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope they will like it.
It sounds fantastic, Kelly! So refreshing and sunny and I love the combination of all these ingredients… I bet this sauce would be great also in a chilled version!
It’s such a coincidence: I also grow jalapeños this year! I cannot get them fresh here (only pickled) so I bought some seeds online and now I have dozens of bushes growing on my tiny balconies… and also several fruits too but I wait till they become dark green, just like the one from your photograph.
What a great idea to enjoy this dish cold on a hot day – I like that option. Thanks Sissi, I’m imagining your beautiful blooming balcony and enjoying the image – how wonderful!
This dish looks like the perfect light summer meal. JT and I adore all of the flavours you’ve used here; I particularly love the juxtaposition of the slightly acidic tomatoes with the creamy, rich coconut milk. By the way, those yellow tomatoes…gorgeous! We’ve been indulging while on holiday and a dish like this will be perfect to get us back on track when we get home.
I couldn’t imagine being away from friends and family, I hope the struggles become easier as time passes.
thanks Eva – yes, the flavors are smoldering good :) think you would enjoy. I hope you and JT are having a great summer and that you’re spending some fun times up at your peaceful cottage; hopefully the bugs haven’t been too bad – by all accounts seems like its been a bit of a wet one so far. All the more reason to enjoy some recipe making ;d
These look so good! What would you suggest as a sub for cilantro? I don’t tolerate it at all.
Hi Erin, you are not alone! Funny enough, I had another reader reach out to me on this very question. The first time I made this recipe I used flat leaf parsley and I liked it at least as much as the cilantro – since cilantro is customary in Brazilian shrimp, I went with that in the post but you could absolutely switch it up! (in my opinion, parsley is one of the most underrated herbs out there). Hope you love it if you give it a try.
Welcome back Kelly! Look forward to hearing about your travels and adventures.
This shrimp dish looks delicious and the problems with heat – no problem here. :) The color with the golden tomatoes and yellow bells is gorgeous making the dish quiet appetizing. Lots of great flavors!
I love your jalapeno! Picking the first fruit/vegetable of the season is so exciting. Our garden is slow this year, but I am getting hot peppers already. Can’t wait for tomatoes to come in. Hopefully the 100+ temps are over.
thank you MJ! It’s nice to be back :) the boys went on their own trip to Europe while my husband and I were busy with other dealings/travel and we are so happy to all be reunited safe & sound. I think of you a lot with our two peach trees literally bursting! I just picked the first ripe one yesterday (divided among the 4 of us ;o) but within a week or two will be delivering to neighbors as it looks like our harvest will be well over a hundred this year. What a thrill! x.
You have me craving shrimp now! Looks so flavorful and refreshing.
I’m glad your recent months have been filled with joy, and I look forward to hearing more. xo
you know that’s exactly how I would describe it… I get major cravings for shrimp and occasionally at the weirdest times too… like middle of winter (who knows!) nice to see your smiling eyes lady, x.
OMG! I almost fell off my chair when I saw the email and the title of your recipe!
This is simply so cool I need some time to recover from the adrenaline… ;-)
thank you so much for the link, the love, and the wonderful version of my very favorite Brazilian dish…
I’ve been wondering how were things with you… and yes, living far away hurts. Sometimes more than it should… or than we are prepared for
Warm hugs going your way,
S….
I didn’t know this was your favourite Brazilian dish Sally but I can certainly understand why :) Thank so much you for the inspiration and for all the joy, kindness and humour you bring to the blogging world.
…I know you are very familiar with the expat emotional roller coaster – smooch! x
indeed I am… ;-)