Insanely easy shrimp curry recipe served over rice loaded with herbs and vegetables! Perfect for a cozy meal that is super satisfying and full of that spicy flavor! Nothing complicated in this recipe and is absolutely delicious each time!
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Delicious, easy shrimp curry with sweet potato, ginger, bok choy, and fresh herbs! Totally full of that fresh flavor!
This easy thai shrimp curry recipe comes together super easily and is way too addicting spooned over a side of rice. Tips below on cooking your rice WITHOUT a rice cooker!
I’ll also share some time-saving tips on how I can get this TO-DIE for curried shrimp and rice on the table under 25 minutes!
This post will go over everything you need to know to create this easy shrimp curry.
Recipe difficulty: Simply simmer and let the magic happen! It’s too easy!
For this easy shrimp curry there is a mix of spices and herbs for the most aromatic smell in the kitchen! These blend of flavors comes together so well that it doesn’t take long to simmer in the pot before its ready to eat. Easily customizable to your favorite vegetables!
Sam’s Pro Tips for this Easy Shrimp Curry
Best Time Saving Tips
We love quick and easy, so I’m all about minimal chopping and tossing into the pot!
Here are the TOP 3 ingredients you should have in order to get this easy shrimp curry recipe on your plate quickly:
- Get the Trader Joe’s Crushed Ginger Cubes to simply throw in the pot!
- Forget peeling and mincing the garlic, the Trader Joe’s Minced Garlic does this for you!
- Buy your shrimp ALREADY peeled, deveined, WITH the TAIL OFF!
Watch the Shrimp!
Discussed in my 15-Minute Asian Chili Garlic Butter Shrimp with Sprite, shrimp can cook really fast!
As such, shrimp doesn’t need a lot of time to cook. You can use frozen shrimp or fresh shrimp in this easy coconut shrimp curry, but literally it will only sauté in the pot for a couple minutes before simmering.
If using frozen shrimp, plan to cook a couple minutes longer.
If you overcook the shrimp, you’ll find that the shrimp tastes hard and rubbery immediately. Not good!
Watch it closely as once it starts to change to a reddish-orange color, get everything ready to simmer as the liquid will finish cooking the shrimp.
The Perfect Rice
One of our most POPULAR posts is our Filipino Style Spam Garlic Fried Rice Anyone Will Love!
The trick with rice is not to rush it!
After you wash your rice, put the rice in a saucepan over medium heat. Your water level should not be more than your fingertip above the rice. Let the rice cook until the water is nearly gone.
Once the water is almost gone, lower the fire to the lowest setting and cover. The steam in the pan will continue to cook the rice.
Turn the fire off after about 3-4 minutes. It is so easy!
How to Easily Dice the Sweet Potato
Two medium sized sweet potatoes are used in this shrimp curry with vegetables and we have an easy way to dice these delicious potatoes in small cubes!
In our Saucy Oven-Baked Buffalo Cheese Fries with Ranch, we shared our favorite tool on getting wedged cut fries by using an APPLE SLICER.
Simply chop a small bottom of the potato to get a rounded surface and place flat on the cutting board. Put the apple slicer on top of the potato and push through.
Once you have your beautiful looking wedges, you can easily dice the sweet potato into small cubes for this easy shrimp curry recipe. So simple!
Key Ingredients – Easy Shrimp Curry
Below are some key and optional ingredients for this recipe:
- Shrimp: Buy your shrimp ALREADY peeled, deveined, WITH the TAIL OFF! You can use frozen or fresh shrimp in this easy coconut shrimp curry.
- Red onion: Onion and garlic is like the basics for mostly ALL my recipes! It’s great to have this in the pantry at the bare minimum. Red onion also looks so colorful in this dish!
- Garlic: 3 cloves is needed for the best flavor! Remember the Trader Joe’s Minced Garlic is a huge time-saver as you don’t need to peel!
- Ginger: Using fresh ginger can be a pain to peel and chop, so we love to use the Trader Joe’s Crushed Ginger Cubes that are frozen to easily drop in the pot without needing to peel and mince!
- Sweet potato: Two diced sweet potatoes adds great flavor to this easy shrimp curry, and you can easily get diced small cubes using an APPLE SLICER!
Broth
- Chicken broth: This is the liquid that will be added to this curried shrimp and rice and is way MORE flavorful than using water! You can adjust the chicken broth according to preference.
- Coconut milk: Using coconut milk is what makes it different from a shrimp curry recipe Indian style as coconut milk is very common in Thai cooking. Shake the can before using!
- Fish sauce: Very common in Filipino cooking! Fish sauce adds to the broth and can be used to top off the curry when serving. See our Top 5 Crazy-Cheap Ingredients You Need for Filipino Cooking and Where to Find It free guide in our LIBRARY.
- Thai red curry paste: So you can use either the Thai Red or Yellow Curry Paste depending on your spice tolerance. The red curry paste will be spicier than the yellow. I used the yellow curry paste as that’s what I had on hand!
- Chili flakes: For some extra spice, 1 teaspoon of chili flakes is used in this curried shrimp and rice. You can tone this down, but with all the spice in the sauce, this gives the right balance.
Toppings
Here are the BEST TOPPINGS to add to this easy shrimp curry:
- Bok choy
- Cilantro
- Red onion
- Lime
- Red chili flakes
- Crushed peanuts/cashews (optional)
Rice
We love to pair this easy shrimp curry recipe with Jasmine rice as this is really the only rice I use!
Jasmine rice is a long-grain rice, very common in Asian recipes.
Make sure to cook the rice evenly and not mushy, as you will get unattractive clumps when serving with the curry.
More Variations to this Easy Shrimp Curry
There are a few ways you can variate this easy shrimp curry. Here’s how:
- Change the protein. If you don’t want to use shrimp, try using chicken thigh fillets. Make sure to adjust the cook time accordingly.
- What can I pair with this dish? This easy coconut shrimp curry is a solid main dish and sure to be a family favorite! Make sure to save room for dessert with our Rich and Creamy Mango Cheesecake Instant Pot Recipe or Perfectly Sweet and Crispy Filipino Turon Recipe | Fried Banana Rolls for a great end to your meal!
Looking for some awesome printables that are totally FREE? Our favorite! Check out our FREE LIBRARY for our Grocery Checklist or our Instant Pot Cooking Times Chart printables to help you on your cooking journey!
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25-Minute Easy Shrimp Curry with Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp peeled, tail-off, and deveined
- ½ red onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger crushed or finely minced
- 2 sweet potatoes diced in small cubes
- 1 bunch bok choy chop the stalks and roughly chop the leaves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- 2½ tablespoons Thai red or yellow curry paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- juice from ½ a lime
- olive oil
Toppings
- chopped cilantro
- ½ red onion sliced in half rings
- lime wedges
- chili flakes
- crushed peanuts or cashews optional
Rice
- jasmine rice cooked
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, coat the bottom with olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the diced onion, ginger, garlic, and Thai curry paste. Cook until the onions are translucent for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the diced sweet potato and chopped bok choy stalks and cook until softened. Stir occasionally.
- Add the shrimp to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes until it starts to change to a reddish-orange color. Once the color starts to change add the coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, chili flakes, and juice of half a lime. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the bok choy leaves and simmer for another 5 minutes until the curry has slightly thickened. Spoon the curry on top of a scoop of rice. Add the toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- For a quick time save, we like to use the Trader Joe’s Crushed Ginger Cubes and Trader Joe’s Minced Garlic as there is no peeling or mincing needed.
- Frozen or fresh shrimp can be used in this recipe. If using frozen, plan to cook the shrimp a couple minutes longer in the pan before the color will change.
- In this easy shrimp curry, we used the Thai yellow curry paste. You can use either the Thai Red or Yellow Curry Paste depending on your spice tolerance. The red curry paste will be spicier than the yellow.
- See Sam’s Pro Tips for this Easy Shrimp Curry for further detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is curry good for in the fridge?
Consume this curried shrimp and rice within 2-3 days for optimal flavor.
What is the rule of thumb in regard to substituting fresh herbs for dried herbs?
Dry herbs are more potent compared to fresh herbs. A good rule of thumb is to use 3x the amount of fresh herbs compared to dried herbs. For example, 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley is equivalent to one teaspoon of dried parsley.
Can you reheat shrimp curry?
Reheat this shrimp curry with vegetables only once as the shrimp can turn tough and can start to taste spoiled.
This post was all about how to create this easy shrimp curry.
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