Salt and Chili Shrimp

by Tataya Kudo - December 24, 2012

When my family and I lived in Thailand, we often went to Koh Larn for long weekend, setting out to eat our way through the city, experience all culinary offering there.

Koh Larn is a lush green tropical island which has beautiful beach and crystal clear sea water. It is also popular for delicious cheap eats, many right on the beach, serving up fresh catch of the day seafood. One of the great sea food dishes we stumped upon there was Salt and Chili Shrimp, Goong Pad Prik Gleur (กุ้งผัดพริกเกลือ). The head on, tail on jumbo shrimp was deep fried and drenched in spicy, salty and aromatic sauce. It was so delicious and remains one of our favorite food memories.

We may not have quite the same scenic ambiance at home but my creation of the recipe -simple enough for a quick weeknight dinner-still brings us back to that warm summer night on the beautiful seashore.

Below is my salt and chili shrimp recipe.

Ingredients

250 grams shrimp, shelled, devein, head and tail intact

6 cloves Chinese garlic, chopped

1 coriander root, pounded

3 red chili peppers, sliced

1 stalk spring onion, sliced thinly

1 teaspoon ground coarse salt

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

vegetable oil for deep frying (I used canola oil)

Preparation

1. Deep fry the shrimp. As soon as it turns pink, dish out and set aside. KEEP the oil.

2. Heat up the wok with 4 tablespoon of oil (Use the left over oil after frying). Add in garlic. Stir fry until it turn light golden. Then add the rest of ingredients. Stir to combine.