Shrimp and Coconut Curry Pasta

If you are open-minded enough to accept that pasta can still be delicious without EVOO, butter, cheese or tomatoes, you will love this recipe.

East meets West in a silky, smooth way through this shrimp and coconut curry pasta which is made keeping in mind all those delightful flavors of Burmese coconut noodle soup, ohn-no-kao-swe. Each strand of spaghetti noodles cradles in creamy, dairy-free pasta sauce, thickened with chickpea puree and smoothed with coconut cream. Shrimps add not only texture with their naturally sweet meat but also extra depth of umami flavor from juices of the heads.

It is perfectly sweet, savory and rich; you will not miss your cheese. Skip the shrimps and replace fish sauce with salt, then you get a vegan pasta! Most of the cooking time goes towards boiling and cooking down the chickpeas but trust me it is worth your patience.

This is a brand new recipe and do not even have a Burmese name. I am proud to call it mine. Give it a try and so will you!

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Shrimp and Coconut Curry Pasta

Yield: 2

Author: Suu Khin

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 2 Hour

Ingredients

• 8 oz. shrimps, peeled but heads and tails on
• 5 oz. dried spaghetti, cooked al dente
• ¼ cup of dried chickpea, soaked overnight
• ¼ cup coconut cream
• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, whole
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ¼ cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 hard-boiled egg, quartered
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

Instructions

Making the chickpea puree

1. Boil the chickpeas with 2 whole garlic cloves and a pinch of salt over medium heat on a stove top for an hour or until they are very soft.
2. Strain the chickpeas and reserve the stock.
3. Puree the peas with 1/4 cup of stock in a blender till smooth.

Making the sauce

1. In a skillet, sauté the onions and garlic in vegetable oil till brown and fragrant.
2. Stir in turmeric powder and paprika.
3. Add and cook the for 2-3 minutes with a splash of water, letting the juices from the heads to seep into the sauce.
4. Remove the shrimps.
5. Add the chickpea puree to the skillet and bring to simmer.
6. Add coconut cream along with couple tablespoons of water.
7. Season with fish sauce and sugar.

Tossing the noodles

1. When the sauce starts to thicken, add the spaghetti and toss well to coat, for a couple of minutes.
2. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and give a good stir.
3. In a plate, place spaghetti first and few cooked shrimps on top.
4. Garnish with more cilantro, eggs and sprinkle red pepper flakes.

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