Grilled Shrimp with Tamarind Sauce
Succulent jumbo shrimp grilled in their shells and served with a sweet-tangy tamarind sauce featuring Thai flavors of cilantro, garlic, and fish sauce. The sauce perfectly balances sweet, sour and spicy notes.
Ingredients
- •1½ lb jumbo shrimp
- •3 teaspoons sea salt
- •1 tablespoon tamarind
- •⅓ cup water
- •1 tablespoon peanut oil
- •1 tablespoon cilantro roots and stems
- •1 tablespoon garlic
- •1 tablespoon Sriracha
- •1½ tablespoons palm sugar
- •1 tablespoon fish sauce
- •2 whole serrano or jalapeño chiles
- •seeded
- •halved lengthwise
- •cilantro sprigs
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Prepare grill for cooking.
10 min
- 2.
Soak shrimp (still in shells) in salt water 5 minutes, then rinse well in a colander.
5 min
- 3.
Place tamarind in a bowl with water and rub with your fingers to dissolve pulp. Pour through a sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids, and discard solids.
5 min
- 4.
Heat oil in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook cilantro paste and garlic, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in hot sauce, 3 tablespoons tamarind juice, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Simmer until thickened to consistency of light syrup, about 3 minutes.
8 min
- 5.
Snip shells of shrimp with scissors down center of back, from wide end to second-to-last tail section. Butterfly shrimp in their shells, making a deep incision along length of back where shells are cut, and devein.
10 min
- 6.
Grill shrimp on their sides on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until shells are pink and slightly charred and shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. (Alternatively, grill shrimp in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderate heat.)
8 min
- 7.
Spoon tamarind sauce over shrimp (still in shells) in a serving dish.
2 min
