Preparation

30 minutes
Cooking

30 minutes
Difficulty

Easy

Familiar dishes like beef curry and chicken curry are quite familiar, right? Have you ever tried the blue shrimp curry? It promises to bring you a new and interesting flavor. Let’s cook this delicious dish shared by Ms. Thanh Truc right away!

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1 Prepare the ingredients

Ingredients for Blue Shrimp Curry Serves 3

Blue shrimp 500 gr Taro 2 bulbs ((about 300gr) Lemongrass 5 stalks Garlic 5 cloves Shallots 2 bulbs Vietnamese coriander a little Fresh noodles 1 kg Coconut milk powder 50 gr (or 500ml fresh coconut milk) Unsweetened fresh milk 220 ml Cooking oil 50 ml Curry powder 50 gr Common spices a little (salt/ seasoning powder/ sugar/ pepper/ monosodium glutamate)

How to choose fresh ingredients

How to choose fresh giant river prawns

The characteristic of giant river prawns is their large, hard head tightly attached to the body. They have two long claws with many sharp spines and their body is green. These are the delicious prawns.
Choose prawns that are firm, with an outer shell that is green and shiny, indicating freshness.
You should choose prawns with curled tails; if the tails are spread out, there is a possibility that the prawns have been injected with additives.
Some unreliable places will inject gelatin or additives to make the prawns appear larger. Therefore, when purchasing, you need to press lightly; if the head is hard but the body is soft (or vice versa), loose and not connected to the head; if the legs are detached or broken, do not buy them.
Do not choose giant river prawns that have unusual colors, pale green, white, or red. Absolutely do not buy prawns that have a foul smell or are leaking slimy fluids.

How to choose fresh taro without being fibrous

Choose round tubers that resemble chicken eggs, with a rough skin and many small roots, with dirt sticking to the skin.
When held in hand, a good tuber feels heavy.
Look closely at tubers with many dimples; the more dimples, the more starchy and delicious the taro is. If you see tubers with few dimples and smooth skin, they are likely not good taro.
Do not choose tubers that are soft and mushy, have many worm holes, bruises, or are very light in weight.

See details: How to choose delicious, starchy taro without being fibrous

Ingredients for giant river prawn curry dish

How to make Shrimp Curry

1

Prepare the ingredients

Wash the blue shrimp thoroughly with several rinses of water; for convenience, you can cut off or shorten the two large claws so that they will be easier to handle during cooking.

Clean the lemongrass, cut into pieces about 2 finger lengths, and then smash them. Peel the shallots and garlic, wash them clean, and chop finely.

Peel the taro, wash it clean, and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

For the rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), pick the fresh leaves and wash them clean.
2

Fry the taro

Place a pan on the stove, add 50ml of cooking oil, and heat it until it bubbles; then add the taro and fry until golden on both sides over medium heat for about 5 – 7 minutes.

Tip: Frying the taro will help it not become mushy when cooked.
3

Marinate shrimp

Put the shrimp in a bowl and marinate with 50g of curry oil (1 jar is 50g), mix well and let it marinate for about 15 minutes.
4

Cook curry

Add 50g of coconut milk powder mixed with 500ml of warm water and stir until dissolved.

Place a pot on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (reuse the oil from frying the taro), when the oil is hot, sauté minced shallots, garlic, and smashed lemongrass cut into pieces until fragrant and golden.

Next, add the marinated shrimp and stir-fry until the shrimp turns pink, then pour in the mixed coconut milk, 220ml of unsweetened fresh milk, 2 tablespoons of seasoning, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, mix well and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes.

When the water boils again, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking, sprinkle a little pepper, Vietnamese coriander, and turn off the heat.
5

Final Product

Scoop the curry into a bowl, add a bit of Vietnamese coriander, and enjoy right away. The shrimp curry is rich and fragrant with lemongrass and coconut milk. The shrimp meat is chewy and sweet, perfect to enjoy with bread or fresh vermicelli.

Try this simple recipe right away, and you will definitely end up with a pot of irresistibly fragrant curry.