Coconut Curry Cauliflower Shrimp (咖哩椰子椰菜花蝦, Gaa3 Lei1 Je4 Zi2 Je4 Coi3 Faa1 Haa1)

This dish is made backwards. You usually start by cooking the meat or seafood, then the vegetables, and finally the sauce when making a dish. In this case, the process is reversed; the sauce is made first, followed by the vegetables, and then the seafood. The dish also has some added heat to it with the addition of capsicum in red oil or red chili peppers if the former is not available. The amount to use depends upon how spicy you like your dishes, so the quantity to use is a personal preference.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Shrimp meat (蝦仁, haa1 jan4), shelled and deveined
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 head	1 head	Cauliflower (椰菜花, je4 coi3 faa1), florets separated
1 lb.	500 g.	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), cut on the diagonal into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1	1	Medium onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
7.4 oz.	210 g.	One 15 oz. (425 g.) can unpeeled straw mushrooms (草菇, cou2 gu1), drained
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Curry powder (咖哩粉, gaa3 lei1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lee brand capsicum in red oil (紅油辣椒, hung4 jau4 laat6 ziu1) or equivalent – to taste
14 oz.	400 ml.	One can coconut milk (椰汁, je4 zap1)
½ Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

6 qt.	5.7 L.	Dutch oven

 

Lee Brand Capsicum With Red Oil

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the shrimp meat by removing the shells and veins. Marinate the shrimp for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the shrimp overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Wash the cauliflower and separate the florets.
3. Wash and cut the carrots on the diagonal into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
4. Remove the tough outer skin of the onion cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
5. Open the can of unpeeled straw mushrooms and discard any liquid. While peeled straw mushrooms can be used if the unpeeled are unavailable, the unpeeled version goes very well in this dish.
6. Put the curry powder into a small bowl.
7. Put the Lee brand capsicum in red oil or equivalent into a small bowl. Dried red peppers can be substituted if this ingredient is not available, in which case, crush and place the dried red peppers into the bowl with the curry powder. The amount to use depends upon personal preference, so feel free to reduce or increase the quantity.
8. Open the can of coconut milk.
9. In a small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the Dutch oven or pot over high heat and before adding oil. Add the curry powder and stir fry until fragrant. Add the capsicum in red oil to the Dutch oven and stir fry the ingredients together. Add the coconut milk to the Dutch oven, stirring the mixture while bringing it to a boil.
2. Add the carrots, onions, and straw mushrooms to the Dutch oven, and stir the mixture together. Once the mixture comes to a boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are just tender.
3. Increase the heat to high before adding cauliflower to the Dutch oven. Once the mixture comes to a boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the corn starch slurry, increase the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil to thicken the sauce. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the shrimp to the simmering liquid. Once the shrimp turns pink, the dish is done. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.