30 min Thai: Pineapple Curry Shrimp over Coconut Rice

I love Thai - and this sweet coconut curry dish is a guilty pleasure, but without the unknowns (msg) of your local Thai dive.  This turned out restaurant quality, and in less than 30 minutes.  I looked at a few recipes for inspiration,  and wrote down what I actually used, below.  "Traditional" version call for added sugar in both the sauce and rice. (2 tbsp in curry sauce, 1 tbsp in rice). Feel free, but I skip this, as the pineapple makes it sweet enough for me....

Ingredients for Pineapple Shrimp (serves 4):

3/4 can coconut milk (unsweetened) **
1 lb raw, deveined shrimp
1/3 fresh pineapple,diced
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, finely diced **
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 green onions, sliced (approx 1/4 c)
1 tbsp fresh lemongrass (the middle of the white tender part only) **
1 handful chopped cilantro
1 large pinch, tumeric**
2 tbsp red curry paste**
2 tbsp fish sauce**

**All of these ingredients can be purchased for CHEAP at your local Asian market.  I found tumeric for $0.99 and the coconut milk was $1.49.  Whenever I go, I end up with a grocery bag or two for less than $10 bucks.  You can probably find this stuff in the ethic section of a Whole Foods or other high-end grocery store, but you'll pay an arm and a leg.


Ingredients for Coconut Rice (serves 4):

1/2 cup rice (I used jasmine, but white or brown would work fine)
1/4 can coconut milk
1/4 c coconut flakes
1/2 vanilla bean pod
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Salt & Pepper

Prep all ingredients as stated above - it makes your cook time so much faster and it's easier to modify your dish to your tastes as you go along. Make rice according to package directions, subbing out the 1/4 c coconut water for 1/4 c water and adding vanilla extract and some sea salt and the vanilla bean pod to the pot.  After cooked (15-30 min depending on which kind of rice you use.  Stir in coconut flakes as you fluff.  Let sit for a few min, covered.

In a large saute pan, heat the coconut milk, fish sauce, red curry, garlic, ginger, tumeric  and lemongrass to medium, until bubbling, but not boiling.  Now, add shrimp, green onions, pineapple and cilantro.  Cook about 8 min, or until shrimp is pink.  Serve over rice with a few pineapple chunks  and some cilantro on top for garnish.

Nutritional Info for both pineapple shrimp & rice:


459 Calories
26 g fat
32 g carb
28 g protein