Shrimp and Okra Stew -- 4 out of 5 stars
Over the past two weeks, I've tried a lot of new recipes. I haven't really had time to review them, but in general, they've been pretty good. I have a few "spare cycles" right now, but I'm still really sleepy so here's a mediocre review of the Shrimp and Okra Stew I made two weeks ago.
I made this recipe as-is, and served over a mix of brown and white rice. (Well, just between you and me, I used frozen okra, and frozen, already peeled shrimp. And I used 1/4 tsp garlic salt in place of adobo seasoning, because I don't own adobo seasoning. My "homemade pepper sauce" was 3/4 tsp ground red pepper, because I like it hot.) It's certainly a very tasty dish. I love shrimp, and I love okra. It was hard to go wrong. Except....there was barely any okra in this recipe. I ended up adding about twice as much okra as called for, and it still wasn't enough. Next time, I will triple the amount of okra in the recipe; that should do it. Vegetables are a good thing, people. The recipe says it makes four servings, but I got five or six servings out of this.
The consistency of the stew's sauce, though, was a bit soupier than expected. I enjoy rice, so I just added extra rice and I was fine. If you're not a fan of soupy stew, I'd suggest reducing the water to 1/2 cup, or thickening it up a bit with flour or cornstarch.
With four stars, this is a dish that I'll probably make again in the future. The aroma from the shrimp and okra stew is delightful. Every time I heated it up in the office, people came by my office to salivate. The dish was tasty enough that I did not feel guilty when their smiles faded as I told them I was unwilling to share my food.
Ingredients
1 lb large shrimp
half a lime
black pepper
4 Tbsp oil
1 med. onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 lb okra,
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3/4 tsp. ground red pepper
Directions
1. Right before you start cooking, toss the shrimp with some lime juice and fresh black pepper and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and a pinch of salt, and let cook down until the onions are translucent. Stir in the curry and minced garlic and continue to cook until the garlic and curry are really fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes (including liquid), salt, adobo, thyme, okra, and water / stock.
4. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high, then reduce the flame and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Avoid stirring the stew too much since this will break up the okra and make it more slippery.
5. Stir in the shrimp and pepper sauce. Cover the pot , reduce to a simmer, and let cook until shrimp is cooked through has turned pink (less than 5 minutes)...
6. Serve with rice and / or boiled plantains and some salad greens for a complete meal.
I made this recipe as-is, and served over a mix of brown and white rice. (Well, just between you and me, I used frozen okra, and frozen, already peeled shrimp. And I used 1/4 tsp garlic salt in place of adobo seasoning, because I don't own adobo seasoning. My "homemade pepper sauce" was 3/4 tsp ground red pepper, because I like it hot.) It's certainly a very tasty dish. I love shrimp, and I love okra. It was hard to go wrong. Except....there was barely any okra in this recipe. I ended up adding about twice as much okra as called for, and it still wasn't enough. Next time, I will triple the amount of okra in the recipe; that should do it. Vegetables are a good thing, people. The recipe says it makes four servings, but I got five or six servings out of this.
The consistency of the stew's sauce, though, was a bit soupier than expected. I enjoy rice, so I just added extra rice and I was fine. If you're not a fan of soupy stew, I'd suggest reducing the water to 1/2 cup, or thickening it up a bit with flour or cornstarch.
With four stars, this is a dish that I'll probably make again in the future. The aroma from the shrimp and okra stew is delightful. Every time I heated it up in the office, people came by my office to salivate. The dish was tasty enough that I did not feel guilty when their smiles faded as I told them I was unwilling to share my food.
Ingredients
1 lb large shrimp
half a lime
black pepper
4 Tbsp oil
1 med. onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 lb okra,
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3/4 tsp. ground red pepper
Directions
1. Right before you start cooking, toss the shrimp with some lime juice and fresh black pepper and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and a pinch of salt, and let cook down until the onions are translucent. Stir in the curry and minced garlic and continue to cook until the garlic and curry are really fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes (including liquid), salt, adobo, thyme, okra, and water / stock.
4. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high, then reduce the flame and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Avoid stirring the stew too much since this will break up the okra and make it more slippery.
5. Stir in the shrimp and pepper sauce. Cover the pot , reduce to a simmer, and let cook until shrimp is cooked through has turned pink (less than 5 minutes)...
6. Serve with rice and / or boiled plantains and some salad greens for a complete meal.