Thai Shrimp Curry Recipe
This Thai shrimp curry recipe is loaded with flavor, made with spicy curry paste, creamy coconut milk and succulent shrimp. Easy to make! Serve it with rice or noodles. It’s a perfect weeknight meal.
Who’s in the mood for curry? I am! Pretty much always. As much as I love curry all year long, there is something special about it when the weather here starts to cool and a warming bowl of curry is in order.
There are so many different types of curry and I’d accept every single one of them, but today I’m serving up a tasty bowl of Thai Shrimp Curry, and you’re going to love it. Here we have succulent shrimp that’s been peeled and deveined, the marinated in fish sauce and a bit of salt and pepper.
The curry is a mixture of creamy coconut milk that simmers with a spicy homemade yellow curry paste, diced tomatoes and seasonings. It’s quick and easy to cook, as the sauce simmers only a short while to develop flavor, and the shrimp are tucked into the coconut curry sauce for only a few minutes to cook through.
Simple as this dish will be for you, you’ll find it is HUGE on flavor and brings just the right amount of spiciness that you crave.
Let’s talk about how we make the dish, shall we?
Ingredients Need for this Thai Shrimp Curry Recipe
- FOR THE SHRIMP
- 1.5 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- FOR THE CURRY
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 5 tablespoons yellow curry paste (see my homemade yellow curry paste recipe)
- 2 cups diced tomatoes (or use a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce + more to finish
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar + more to taste (brown sugar is a good substitute)
- FOR SERVING: Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, spicy chili flakes, cooked jasmine rice
Thai Shrimp Curry Recipe Steps
- First, toss the shrimp with the fish sauce and a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes, covered. Start the curry while the shrimp is marinating.
- For the curry, heat the coconut milk in a large pan over medium heat about 10 minutes. The coconut oil should start to separate from the white creamy portion. (If this does not occur, simply proceed with the recipe).
- Add the curry paste and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring, to cook the paste and thicken up the sauce.
- Add the diced tomatoes, fish sauce and palm sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors develop.
- Add the shrimp and accumulated marinade and cook 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked through.
- Taste and adjust with fish sauce and palm sugar to your tastes.
- Serve over white rice and garnish with chopped herbs and chili flakes, if desired. Lime wedges are great here, too. It’s nice with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Yellow Curry Paste
You can find different curry pastes in specialty stores, and even some pretty good ones in your typical grocery stores, or you can order them online. However, I enjoy making curry paste at home. This allows you to control the flavor and ingredients you’re putting into the curry paste.
For example, if you like more of a garlicky curry paste, you can easily double or triple the amount of garlic a recipe calls for. It is easy to customize to your own personal desires. See my homemade yellow curry paste recipe here. It uses a lot of ingredients, but it is well worth it.
Want to order online? Buy Yellow Curry Paste from Amazon (affiliate link, my friends).
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Make it with Chicken. I’ve made this with shrimp, but chicken is a great substitute. You can directly sub in the chicken for the shrimp, though it would benefit from a longer marinade, and will need to simmer longer in the coconut curry sauce until it is fully cooked through.
- Seasonings. You’ll get a lot of flavor from the yellow curry paste, but if you’re looking to spice it up even more, add in a teaspoon or more of curry powder or this spicy vindaloo curry powder. You can also easily sprinkle in some spicy chili powder, like cayenne or even ghost pepper flakes. Yes!
- Chili Peppers. I’ve relied on the curry paste for the spiciness I’m looking for, but aside from extra curry powder, you can sear up some spicy chili peppers in a bit of oil first, set them aside, then tuck them into the dish to simmer when you add the coconut milk. That will bring you a bit of extra spicy heat, depending on your chili peppers of choice.
- Additional Ingredients. Other flavors you might consider including are fresh ginger, brown sugar (instead of palm sugar), mild red peppers (red bell peppers), snow peas, or chicken broth for thinning.
That’s it my friends! That’s how I make my homemade Thai Shrimp Curry. It’s super easy to make, isn’t it? I hope you enjoy it! Spice it up as much as you’d like! I know you want to, my crazy chilihead friends!
Try Some of My Other Popular Curry Recipes
- Chicken Korma
- Spicy Beef Vindaloo
- Spicy Thai Curry Chicken Soup
- Coconut Chicken Curry
- Khao Soi – Northern Thai Coconut Curry Soup
- Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken
- Easy Chickpea Curry
- Red Curry
- Curry Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
- 1.5 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 5 tablespoons yellow curry paste see my yellow curry paste recipe
- 2 cups diced tomatoes or use a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce + more to finish
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar + more to taste
- Toss the shrimp with the fish sauce and a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes, covered. Start the curry while the shrimp is marinating.
- For the curry, heat the coconut milk in a large pan over medium heat about 10 minutes. The coconut oil should start to separate from the white creamy portion. (If this does not occur, simply proceed with the recipe).
- Add the curry paste and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring, to cook the paste and thicken up the sauce.
- Add the diced tomatoes, fish sauce and palm sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors develop.
- Add the shrimp and accumulated marinade and cook 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked through.
- Taste and adjust with fish sauce and palm sugar to your tastes.
- Serve over white rice and garnish with chopped herbs and chili flakes, if desired.
Calories calculated without rice or noodles for serving.
Recommended Cookbook
If you enjoy Thai cooking, I recommend this cookbook – Hot Thai Kitchen: Demystifying Thai Cuisine with Authentic Recipes to Make at Home, by Pailin Chongchitnant. It’s a great resource with lots of traditional Thai recipes. Very instructive! (Affilliate link, my friends!)
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Could you suggest a good fish sauce? They all smell really fishy. I need to know of a quality one. Thank you
Kathy, I usually can get the Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce from my local grocer, but there are some highly rated fish sauces at Amazon.