This Easy Thai Shrimp Recipe is one of the many we make. As tasty as it is healthy, it uses sweet basil, Thai chili peppers, garlic, kaffir lime, and fingerroot that help burn fat internally. The Thai name is "Gung Pad Cha."
500gramsShrimpOr Prawns (equivalent to 1/2 lb kilo or 1 lb.)
3tbspCoconut oilTasteless, for cooking
3wholeGarlic clovesSliced into small pieces
4wholeThai chili peppersTo taste (4 will make it very spicy)
3wholePeppercornsFresh, whole (Piper nigrum)
1gramThai Sweet BasilA large pinch of fresh leaves
1gramKaffir Lime leavesA large pinch of fresh leaves (sliced in the recipe)
3wholeFingerroot3 whole sticks of it
½wholeWhite onionHalf of an onion
½tspSea saltOr regular salt
½tbspGround pepperFresh ground pepper is always best
1tbspOyster sauceAny oyster sauce
½cupWhite riceBoiled, served on the side.
The optionals (extra veggies in the fridge)
½wholeCarrotOptional, to taste
1gramsMushroomOptional, to taste
½tspSugarOptional, to taste (this recipe does not use sugar)
2smalleggplantOptional, sliced
Instructions
First, put in the coconut oil in the skillet and chop the garlic and chili and put it on the coconut oil. Then put in the garlic on the fried chili and coco oil. Fry a bit to get the smell going the garlic and chili alone.
Then put the shrimp in and cook the shrimp over medium heat with the garlic and chilis in the coconut oil.
Once the shrimp starts to turn orange, put in the fresh peppercorn and sliced white onion. You'll want to chop up the fresh peppercorn just a bit to open it up. Then put it in alongside the onion. (onion for sweetness, peppercorn for heat)
At this point you can place in the optional ingredients, the mushroom, vegetables and sugar.
Once the carrot got soft, we sliced the finger root and put it in. Then at this point is when you put in the salt, ground pepper, oyster sauce and stir it for 30 seconds. (if you want to add a sweet taste to the dish, at this point you would add some sugar)
The recipe ends with a quick stir in the fresh herbs. These give the finishing touch smell. If you put the leaves in too early, the smell won’t come out later. Put the chopped kaffir and fresh, and whole basil leaves in around 10 seconds before you turn off the flame.
Video
Notes
*To be served with a side of freshly made white rice.
Natural sweetness comes from the white onion, so we don’t add sugar. But adding sugar would blend nicely with the spicy shrimp.
Usually, in Thai food, we’d use fish sauce instead of salt and pepper, but my wife knows me and my preference of salt and pepper:)
If the dish is starting to look dry, put more water to increase the juiciness. It won’t lessen the flavor, rather will enhance it.
The optional parts:
We put added ingredients only for the nutritional value as we ate this for lunch that day. Usually, the optional ingredients from this recipe are not in the standard Thai version of it.