Thai Tamarind Shrimp
This Thai Tamarind Shrimp packs bold flavors with juicy shrimp, garlic, and a sticky tamarind glaze that’s irresistibly good. And if you’ve already made my homemade Pad Thai sauce, you can whip this up in under 10 minutes—weeknight dinner win!
Tamarind Prawn Ingredients and How to Use Them
Shrimp: Use peeled or peel-on shrimp depending on your preference—just make sure to devein them. Shrimp soak up all the bold, tangy flavors of the sauce and cook quickly for a juicy, tender bite.
Oil: Use a neutral oil like avocado or vegetable oil. Start by frying the shallots in this oil to infuse it with flavor, then use the same oil to cook the shrimp and build your sauce.
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Shallots: Thinly sliced and fried until golden. Add a pinch of salt while frying to help draw out moisture and speed up the crisping process. Shallots add a rich, sweet-savory base flavor.
Salt: Just a pinch while frying shallots—not for seasoning the entire dish. It helps remove moisture so the shallots fry up crispy and fragrant.
Dried Chilies (optional): Toasted or lightly fried and used as garnish. They add a hint of smokiness, gentle heat, and beautiful color to finish the dish.
Garlic: Minced or pounded into a paste with cilantro stems. It brings pungent, savory depth that blends beautifully with the sweet and tangy notes of the sauce.
Cilantro Stems: Pound them with garlic to make a quick herb paste—they’re full of earthy, citrusy aroma. Save the cilantro leaves for a fresh and fragrant garnish.
Coconut Sugar: Offers a caramel-like sweetness that balances the tart tamarind. You can substitute with palm sugar or brown sugar if needed.
Tamarind Paste: The heart of this dish! Tamarind is tangy and slightly fruity, adding that classic sour note found in many Thai dishes.
Fish Sauce: Brings the savory, salty umami punch that ties all the sweet and sour elements together.
Water: Used to thin the sauce slightly and prevent it from reducing too quickly or burning in the pan.
Red Bell Pepper or Any Mild Pepper: Thinly sliced or diced and added near the end for crunch, a pop of natural sweetness, and color. Also works great as a garnish.
How to Make Tamarind Shrimp
- Fry the aromatics: In a pan over medium heat, fry thinly sliced shallots with a pinch of salt until golden and crispy. Remove and set aside. Fry dried chilies until darkened slightly and fragrant, then set aside as well. Reserve the flavorful oil.
- Sear the shrimp: Using the same oil, sear shrimp on both sides until just cooked through, about 1–2 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp from the pan.
- Build the sauce: Turn off the heat. Add a paste of garlic and cilantro stems to the hot pan and stir quickly to release aroma without burning. Stir in coconut sugar, tamarind paste, fish sauce, and water.
- Simmer and combine: Turn the heat back on to medium. Stir until the sauce slightly thickens, then add back the shrimp, bell pepper slices, fried chilies, crispy shallots, and fresh cilantro. Toss to coat everything in the sauce.
- Serve and enjoy: Plate over hot jasmine rice and top with extra fried shallots for crunch. Enjoy while it’s warm and glossy!
Short Cut Version Using Pad Thai Sauce
Sear the shrimp: In a bit of oil, quickly sear your shrimp on both sides until just cooked. Remove and set aside.
Sauté aromatics: In the same pan, add a garlic and cilantro stem paste and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Make the sauce: Add 3 tablespoons of my Pad Thai sauce and ½ cup water to thin it out. Let the sauce simmer and reduce slightly.
Combine and finish: Add the shrimp and sliced bell peppers back into the pan. Toss everything together to coat in the glossy, tangy sauce.
Serve and top: Spoon it over jasmine rice and top with homemade crispy shallots—if you’ve got a jar in the pantry, now’s the time to use it! (Well-made fried shallots stay crispy for at least a month.)
You’ll lose a little of the crispy shallot texture using this method unless you already have the fried shallots ready in your pantry. However, the flavor stays absolutely on point—and dinner’s done in under 10 minutes.
Related Recipes
- Homemade Tamarind Paste : Follow my recipe and your tamarind paste will stay fresh over a month!
- Homemade Pad Thai Sauce
- Son-in-Law Eggs : practically the same sauce as Pad Thai too
- Crispy Fried Shallots : Another topping that you can make ahead and store for more than a month.
Thai Tamarind Shrimp
Equipment
- 1 wok
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2-3 shallots
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3-4 dried chilies (optional)
- 1 lb shrimp (peeled on or off)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 -8 cilantro (Use stems for the garlic -cilantro paste and leaves for garnish.)
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1.5 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 bell pepper (red or green for garnish)
Instructions
Fry Shallots and Dried Chilies
- Slice the shallots evenly. Use a mandolin or slicer for a quick and tear-free process.
- Lay the sliced shallots on paper towels. Sprinkle a little salt over them and let them sit for 4-5 minutes. Then, gently blot out the moisture with another piece of paper towel. Alternatively, you can add salt while frying the shallots.
- Choose your frying vessel such as a pot or a wok. Use enough oil to submerge all the shallots or only 3 tablespoons if you are using all of them right away and that they don't have to stay crispy for long.
- Add the shallots to the oil and pan before turning on the heat. Then, turn the heat to medium-high. You’ll notice vapors around the pan—that’s moisture escaping from the shallots. Starting with cold oil allows more moisture to escape, resulting in crispier shallots. Sprinkle some more salt at this stage.
- Remove the shallots when they turn golden. Scoop them out of the hot oil and spread them evenly on paper towels. For the best results, lay several pieces of paper towel on a cooling rack before spreading the fried shallots. At this stage, they won’t be very crispy yet.
- Let the fried shallots cool completely. As they cool, they will become crispier. Use them right away or store them in an airtight container at room temperature. If you don't put it in air tight container after within 10 -15 minutes after cooling, they will not stay crispy.
- Save the shallot-infused oil to fry the dried chilies and shrimp
- Fry the dried chilies in the same oil for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant and slightly smoky. Set aside for garnish.
Prepare the Shrimp and Tamarind Sauce
- Make sure the shrimp are deveined. You can leave the peel on or remove it based on your preference.
- Sear the shrimp in the reserved oil over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes per side, until just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- Turn off the heat. Finely chop or pound garlic and cilantro stems into a paste.
- While the pan is still hot (but not on heat), stir-fry the garlic-cilantro paste for about 30 seconds until fragrant. This prevents the garlic from burning.
- Add tamarind paste, coconut sugar, fish sauce, and water to the pan. Turn the heat back on to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce reduces slightly.
Assemble
- Return the shrimp and add diced bell pepper to the pan. Stir to coat everything in the tamarind sauce and cook for 1 more minute.
- Turn off the heat and top with fried shallots, optional dried chilies, and chopped cilantro.
- Serve immediately with jasmine rice and enjoy!
