Regional Recipes: Goan Shrimp Curry

I've mentioned this dish a couple of times before (here and here), and both times it has been freakishly good. I'm mentioning it again as it is my entry in the Regional Recipes blogging event over at Blazing Hot Wok, where authoress/Regional Recipes El Jefe Darlene has chosen the food of India for this month's theme.

I got this recipe from NY Times author Elaine Louie who was doing a One Pot column last year, where food you can make in, you guessed it, one pot, was featured. This is a recipe from NY chef Suvir Saran who makes it at his restaurant Devi. The state of Goa where Saran had this, is India's smallest, and known for its fiery cuisine. Every time I've had it I'm reminded of how with the simplest prep, Indian food delivers such huge flavor. If you haven't made this, then might I suggest you give your palate a thrill!
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Goan-Style Shrimp Curry
Adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, Devi

Time: 25 minutes

ingredients:
1 1/3pounds large shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4cup canola oil
4 dried red chilies
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

method:
1. Place shrimp in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne. Mix well and refrigerate.

Chilis, onion, and ginger creating aromatic magic!



2. In a deep skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine oil and chilies and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Add ginger, onion, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt and sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, ground coriander and turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes. Stir, scraping sides and bottom of pot, for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

The skillet of steaming curry deliciousness just before stirring in the cilantro.


4. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, and add shrimp. Bring to a simmer and cook until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro. If desired, serve with rice.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.
Cooks note: in her article, Louie mentions how Suvi Saran, who created the dish "sometimes poaches scallops and salmon in the sauce, or blends it with potatoes, cauliflower and green beans." In other words, feel free to riff off the basic sauce.

Get your "om" on with Goan Shrimp Curry

I regularly get my zen on in the kitchen, and at the culinary ashram that is the kitchen at 1309 here in PDX we definitely were experiencing feelings of inner peace and happy fulfillment after consuming this knock out Indian curry I gleaned from Elaine Louie's "One Pot" column that runs in the NYT Wednesday dining section. This is the second of her dishes we've tried (the other being the amazing Burmese Panthay Noodles), and besides being fast and simple to prepare they have both been incredibly palate pleasing and complex, with that broad panoply of flavors that you get with so many ethnic cuisines. Last night's curry was awesome, the ginger, garlic, onion, and spices creating aromatic magic. It is just-right-spicy, with the rich tomatoey/coconut milk flavor that matched perfectly with the tender prawns. Plated with a side of rice and we had everything we needed to get our "om" going. My tummy was going "namaste" with every bite!
*** *** ***

Goan-Style Shrimp Curry
Adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, Devi

Time: 25 minutes

ingredients:
1 1/3pounds large shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4cup canola oil
4 dried red chilies
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

method:
1. Place shrimp in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne. Mix well and refrigerate.

Chilis, onion, and ginger creating aromatic magic!



2. In a deep skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine oil and chilies and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Add ginger, onion, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt and sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, ground coriander and turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes. Stir, scraping sides and bottom of pot, for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

The skillet of steaming curry deliciousness just before stirring in the cilantro.


4. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, and add shrimp. Bring to a simmer and cook until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro. If desired, serve with rice.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.
Cooks note: in her article, Louie mentions how Suvi Saran, who created the dish "sometimes poaches scallops and salmon in the sauce, or blends it with potatoes, cauliflower and green beans." In other words, feel free to riff off the basic sauce.

Burma? Myanmar? Ponder the answer with Panthay Noodles!

Burma? Myanmar?? Given the choice, I'm a big Burma guy. The Burma Road. The dense forested mountains of Burma. I picture despots ruling from their Burmese jungle hideouts. When I think of Myanmar I sadly think of a repressive government beating down monks. But after last night's dinner, I do have something positive to ponder when it comes to thoughts of Myanmar, and that would be the next time I get to have these deliciously exotic Panthay Noodles (Panthay is the Burmese word for Chinese Muslims).

I read about this dish a couple of weeks ago on the New York Times website in an article by Elaine Louie in her "One Pot" series that appears in the Wednesday dining section. She adapted it from Manhattan caterer Irene Khin Wong whose mother in Myanmar would make it for breakfast or lunch. Khin describes it as a fusion of Indian and Chinese cuisines: "The Chinese brought the noodles, fish sauce and bok choy, and the Indians brought the curry". Very easy and rewarding, I thought it was absolutely delicious with its complex, savory flavors. With the bok choy, chicken, and noodles, it's like having all three dinner staples...vegetable, meat, starch...in one dish. Last night I doubled the recipe because I was, as seems to be my alarmingly regular state, quite hungry, and we finished it off with no problem. I see it as a great main course for a light dinner, or a really attention getting first course for an Asian dinner party.
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Panthay Noodles
adapted from Irene Khin Wong
time: 30 minutes

ingredients:
6 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 ounces fresh Asian noodles or dried egg noodles
5 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thigh meat, cut into slices 1 1/2 inches long by 1 inch wide by 1/2-inch thick
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons (about 2 cloves) minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons fish sauce
8 ounces baby bok choy, cut lengthwise into pieces 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide
1/4 cup peeled, finely slivered carrot
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 to 4 lemon wedges, for serving.

method:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon oil and a sprinkle of salt. Boil noodles until barely tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain, rinse thoroughly under cold water and drain again. Set aside.

2. Season chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside. Place a medium skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Add onion, garlic and ginger, and sauté until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, curry powder, paprika, fish sauce and 2 tablespoons water. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and keep warm.

3. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Add bok choy and sauté until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add carrots and noodles and sauté until well heated, 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

4. To serve, divide noodle mixture between two warm plates. Top each portion with half the chicken mixture. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.

Yield: 2 servings.