Shrimp curry with coconut milk and potato

Posted on by Lani and Norm

This recipe is a lot simpler than it seemed at first and it turned out quite well.   One thing I am noticing in all my mother’s recipes are some common ingredients, in particular, the spices and flavour ingredients, like onions, garlic and ginger.  Spices that are common to her recipes are turmeric, garlic, ginger and some kind of heat in this case cayenne pepper.  In this shrimp curry recipe the heat is offset by the coconut milk which makes for a nice creamy taste and texture.  Turmeric is one ingredient that is very common in South East Asian recipes I’m noticing and in particular my mother’s recipes.  I used to hate turmeric when I was little.  It would stain everything.  I hated yellow.  I’m still not a big fan of yellow but turmeric has its place in cooking and our diets as do many herbs and spices.  But what is the difference between a herb and spice?

What is the difference between an herb and spice?

I have always considered an herb as a leaf and a spice as powdered.  When I saw this article, What are Spices?  I was very curious.  It seems a spice refers to any part of the plant that is dried except the leaves that is used as a seasoning, but not a main ingredient.  The leaves, when dried or used as a seasoning are referred to an herb.  Parts of the plant that may be used a spice are the dried bark, roots, berries, seeds, twigs, anything that isn’t the green leaves.  Currently, India produces close to 75% of the world’s spices. [3]  Turmeric is a flowering plant of the ginger family.  The roots are what are used in cooking.  They are dried and then ground into that mustard, orangey, yellow powder that is familiar to most as a spice in a curry powder.   Turmeric is, by definition, a spice.  [1]

What is turmeric?

Turmeric is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. By some turmeric is referred to as the Indian saffron or golden spice. [5] It has been used as a dye in Asia for thousands of years and is a big part of traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and Unani.  Turmeric is not found wild but is cultivated in Southeast Asia, Oceania and some West African countries.  However, the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric is India. [1]

turmeric root
turmeric root

Is turmeric good for your health?

Turmeric is not just valuable as a flavour enhancement to cooking but it also has beneficial health properties.  The active ingredient curcumin in turmeric has strong biological properties. Turmeric has been used in Ayurveda medicine and other traditional medicines for ages for various conditions including chronic pain and inflammation.    In traditional oriental medicine, turmeric powder has been used throughout the ages to treat conditions from high cholesterol to eczema and even aid in cancer. [2. 5]

Western medicine has started to study turmeric and its benefits, for example, its anti-inflammatory properties.  Many studies observe that turmeric reduces inflammation.  From here it may be possible that turmeric has the ability to reduce the discomfort of arthritis.  There has also been some anecdotal evidence that turmeric is suitable pain reliever and in particular with arthritis sufferers.  Turmeric also has antioxidant properties that may help the liver from being damaged by toxins. There is some evidence that curcumin can be protective again pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma.  [5]

What are some benefits of turmeric and curcumin?

Some possible benefits of turmeric are as a digest aid.  The curcumin in turmeric might stimulate the gallbladder to produce more bile aiding in various digestive problems e.g. gas, bloating.  It may also help with inflammatory bowel diseases e.g. Chrohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis.   There is some research that indicates turmeric helps keep blood cholesterol levels low including helping to prevent LDL, low density lipoprotein levels, from building up reducing the risk of stroke or heart attack.  There has also been some work on curcumin as an agent in aiding in the killing of cancer cells.   There are some other possible benefits of turmeric.  Turmeric has been seen to lower the blood sugar levels in diabetic animals; turmeric supplements may increase the effects of anti-diabetic drug, including the risk of low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia.  Some preliminary studies show that curcumin helps block the formation of plaque that may cause Alzheimer’s disease.  More evidence shows that applying turmeric directly to the skin may help treat eczema and help to heal some minor wounds. [4]

Other conditions for which turmeric or curcumin may be effective for are hay fever, depression, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, itching or pruritus.  Turmeric may however, aggravate some conditions such as stomach ulcers, skin problems related to radiation cancer treatments.   In general, when turmeric is taken orally or applied to the skin properly it is safe. [2] 

What are some of the side effects of turmeric and curcumin?

Some of the not so happy side effects of turmeric are upset stomach when taken in large amounts.  Turmeric stimulates the stomach to produce gastric acid which can be very upsetting to some. There is also the possible thinning of the blood when taking curcumin.  This can be a problem for those taking blood thinning drugs and should be avoided.  Some studies suggest that turmeric may ease symptoms of PMS.  Due to the blood thinning effects of turmeric pregnant women should avoid taking large quantities of turmeric.[5] There are not significant side effects with turmeric but some people may experience an upset stomach, nausea, dizziness or diarrhoea. [2]

Bangladesh shrimp curry with coconut milk recipe
Bangladesh shrimp curry with coconut milk and potatoes recipe ingredients

Ingredients

  • one package (25-30 shrimp) frozen raw shrimp, large
  • 1 + 1/3 c cooking onion
  • 2 c small potatoes
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1/3 c cooking oil
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder or 1 tsp of ground ginger paste
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 tsp of ground garlic paste

Directions

  • Clean shrimp. Wash and drain off water. Approximately 2 c of shrimp.
  • Wash and peel potatoes. Chop larger potatoes in half.
  • In a frying pan heat the oil and add 1 cup of thinly chopped onion. Fry until light brown.
  • Add all the shrimp. Turn off the heat. Stir in all the spices.
  • Cook at medium heat for a few minutes. Add in the potatoes while stirring. Add in the solid part of the coconut milk. Continue stirring.
  • With continuous stirring cook for about 5 minutes. Then pour in the remaining coconut milk, onions and ketchup.
  • Mix well. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer at stove setting 1 until the potatoes are cooked.
  • Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.

Note: One think I’m noticing with these recipes is the prep time. When I make the recipe from scratch on the day I want to it, it takes a long time. However, when I prep everything the day before, it isn’t nearly as tiring a cooking experience and I’mm ready to eat sooner than later. For example, pealing the shrimp, cutting up the onions and peeling and cutting up the potatoes to size the day before all help cut down the time to prepare and cook the dish.

Modifications: The one modification my mother suggested was using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.

Tea Pairings:  The Secrets of Pairing Tea with Seafood has a nice set of examples of seafood dishes and teas that have been paired with them.  In their third slide they have a delicious looking shrimp salad finger sandwiches paired with a Kenyan Green Tea. [8]  A white tea is suggested for lightly flavoured foods including shrimp but this particular shrimp dish is not lightly flavoured with all the turmeric, ginger and garlic.  So I wouldn’t suggest a white tea as is suggested in [11].  An oolong may go well with this dish as there are different strengths or oxidation levels of oolongs allowing for the ability to choose  perhaps a more oxidized oolong to go along with the particularly flavoured and spiced shrimp dish. [14, 15]

Bangladesh shrimp curry with coconut milk and potatoes cooking
Bangladesh shrimp curry with coconut milk and potatoes cooking

Reference:

  1. Turmeric, Wikipedia, URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric
  2. Turmeric, WebMD, URL: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-662/turmeric
  3. What are Spices?, July 2018, Danilo Alfaro, URL: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-spices-995747
  4. Benefits of Turmeric Powder, Amber Kelsey, Aug 2018, Livestrong.com, URL: https://www.livestrong.com/article/145900-benefits-of-turmeric-powder/
  5. Turmeric side effects: Health benefits and risks, Kathryn Watson, July 2017, Medical News Today, URL: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318405.php
  6. Everything you need to know about turmeric, Megan Ware, May 2018, Medical News Today, URL: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/306981.php
  7. What is Turmeric good for?, Nov 2016, Food Facts, Mercola, URL: https://foodfacts.mercola.com/turmeric.html
  8. The Secrets of Pairing Tea with Seafood, July 2015, Tea Time, URL: https://www.teatimemagazine.com/secrets-of-pairing-tea-with-seafood/
  9. Tea Pairings, arbor teas, URL: https://www.arborteas.com/tea-pairings/
  10. Food Pairing with …Tea!, Twinings, URL: https://www.twinings.co.uk/about-twinings/latest-news-and-articles/food-pairing-with-tea
  11. Beginner’s Guide to Pairing Tea with Food, Rivertea, URL: http://www.rivertea.com/blog/beginners-guide-pairing-tea-food/
  12. Tea and Food Pairings – What tea goes with what foods?, Mar 2012, Shanti Tea, URL: https://www.shantitea.ca/stblog/article/st/777/tea-and-food-pairings-what-tea-goes-with-what-foods
  13. Tea and Food Pairings, The Nibble, URL: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/beverages/teas/pairing-tea-with-food.asp
  14. Pairing Tea with Foods, English Tea Store, URL: https://www.englishteastore.com/article-pairing-tea-with-foods.html
  15. Beginner’s Guide to Pairing Tea with Food, Ralph Kenney, May 2015, Immortalitea, URL: https://immortalitea.com/blogs/immortal-musings/139134535-beginners-guide-to-pairing-tea-with-food
Lani and Norm
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Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge. Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family. Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!

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