Coconut milk flavored with peanut butter and red curry paste makes a classic Thai-inspired, creamy sauce. When tossed with shrimp and bell peppers, it makes for an easy dinner!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“My favorite food is Thai curry. I travel around and try any and all Thai restaurants I can find. And I love this recipe. I have been making this since 2016 for my family. Always a huge hit. Restaurant quality. Seriously good.”
~Rachel, FoodieCrush reader
This is the red Thai shrimp curry of your dreams, with big, succulent shrimp coated in a coconut-based curry sauce.
Even better, this is a fast and easy recipe that takes just 30 minutes to prepare. While the curry bubbles away, I like to make a batch of steamed white rice in my Instant Pot.
Just like chili, this creamy coconut shrimp curry tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to come together.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- PLEASE TAKE NOTE! There have been some comments that the dish is too salty. I believe this is from using a lesser quality fish sauce, which will lend a saltier taste. Please use a high-quality fish sauce like the one I recommend, or add just 4 tablespoons of sauce and then taste it, and add more to your liking.
- I like Key West Pink Shrimp in my shrimp coconut curry. In my opinion, they’re sweeter and more flavorful than striped or tiger shrimp that are typically farmed.
- Don’t skip the brown sugar! You need a little sweetness to balance out all the rich and savory umami flavors going on in this dish.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Shrimp — I find wild caught Key West Shrimp in the freezer section at my local Kroger (under the Private Selection brand).
- Vegetables — I used a blend of brightly colored bell peppers, plus onion for flavor. Use any combo of vegetables you like in your red shrimp curry.
- Coconut milk — Use canned unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk. If using low-fat coconut milk, the sauce will be thinner and has a tendency to break.
- Thai red curry paste — Each brand varies in how spicy it is, so taste yours before adding the full amount to the curry.
- Fish sauce — Don’t be afraid of fish sauce. It sounds odd but lends a distinctly Thai flavor to the dish. My husband read somewhere Red Boat is a highly-rated fish sauce, and is 100% natural, so it’s the one we buy now.
- Peanut butter — Use creamy peanut butter for the best consistency.
- Lime juice — The acidic lime juice cuts through the salty fish sauce and brightens the curry.
- Ginger — Use fresh or dried ginger in this dish. I’ve used both. If using fresh, use 1 ½ tablespoons minced ginger and cook it with the peppers and onions and omit the dried ginger from the coconut milk mixture.
- Brown sugar — Rounds out the flavor profile of the red curry.
- Fresh herbs — Cilantro, basil, and green onions add a fresh pop of flavor that rounds out the hearty curry.
How to Make Coconut Curry Shrimp
- Prep and marinate the shrimp. Peel and devein the shrimp (but leave the tails on). Then, toss the shrimp with a little oil, garlic, kosher salt, and red chili flakes. Let the shrimp marinate for 10 minutes.
Heidi’s Tip: I like to leave the tails on my shrimp for presentation’s sake, but if you want to, feel free to remove the tails from the get-go.
- Cook the veggies and shrimp. Cook the onion and peppers in a hot skillet until softened, then transfer them to a bowl. Working in batches, cook the shrimp in the skillet and then place it in a separate bowl.
- Next, make the red curry sauce. The creamy sauce is amped up by combining coconut milk with salty fish sauce and lime juice, plus peanut butter, red curry paste, brown sugar, and ground ginger.
- Bring it all together. Add the cooked onion and peppers back into the skillet and pour in the coconut milk mixture. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Add the shrimp to the skillet with the basil and cilantro and toss to coat.
- Garnish before serving. When serving this coconut curry shrimp, it’s all about the garnish. Cilantro leaves, fresh basil, sliced red jalapeño, chopped green onion, and a squeeze of lime simply enhance this dish in my opinion.
FAQs
The peanut butter doesn’t make the curry taste like peanuts, it just deepens the flavor. However, you can omit the peanut butter if you’re out or have an allergy in your family. (You could also experiment with using almond butter, if an allergy is the issue.)
To adjust the spice level of this Thai red shrimp curry, add more or less curry pasta and red chili flakes to taste.
Go for it! The bell peppers can be replaced with another type of pepper, broccoli, bok choy, you name it.
Storage Tips
Shrimp curry lasts up to 5 days in the fridge, and leftovers should be gently reheated over medium heat or in the microwave. Be very careful if microwaving, because shrimp tends to go dry and rubbery when microwaved.
What to Serve with Thai Shrimp Curry
Serve over brown rice for another layer of nutty flavor. If you’re a white rice kind of eater, go for it. Cellophane or rice noodles would be really good underneath the curry too, or spiralize a few zucchini noodles to keep the veg-love flowing.
Side dish ideas include:
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Thai Coconut Noodle Salad
- Thai Zucchini Noodle Salad
- Asian Slaw
- Sesame Broccoli
- Asian Pickled Cucumbers
- Asian Ramen Noodle Salad
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Shrimp In Thai Coconut Curry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp , peeled and deveined, tail on
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil , divided
- 2 cloves garlic , minced or pressed
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ½ onion , peeled and sliced
- ½ red bell pepper , seeded and sliced
- ½ orange bell pepper , seeded and sliced
- ½ yellow bell pepper , seeded and sliced
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4-6 tablespoons high quality fish sauce , start with 4 tablespoons and add more to taste
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons lime juice , about ½ large lime, juiced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons basil leaves , chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped
- 1 green onion , chopped
- Red jalapeno pepper , thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Place the shrimp in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil, garlic, kosher salt and red chili flakes. Toss to coat and let marinate for 10 minutes.
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the peppers and onion to a bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and cook half of the shrimp for 2 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes or until opaque. Transfer the shrimp to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook the remaining shrimp then add to the other shrimp.
- In another bowl or 4-cup measuring cup mix the coconut milk, fish sauce, peanut butter, red curry paste, lime juice, brown sugar and ground ginger and stir well.
- Transfer the cooked onion and peppers to the skillet and pour the coconut milk mixture of the peppers. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp to the skillet with the basil and cilantro and toss to coat. Serve over rice or noodles. Garnish with more cilantro and basil, chopped green onion and sliced red jalapeño of desired.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Thai Recipes to Try
- Thai Beef Curry
- Thai Turkey Meatballs in Red Curry Sauce
- Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Pad Thai
- Thai Chicken Larb
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Thai Black Pepper Tofu
- Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua)
- 30-Minute Thai Red Chicken Curry
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Sam
I love this recipe. I once bit into a red thai chilli
.. needless to say my wife laughed her buttons off watching me fly about the kitchen eyes watering buckets of tears, hiccupping coughing . After that episode I had new respect for the blasted thing. I added squid to the recipe the second time I made it and payed homage to the pepper by not biting into one again. I love the spicey heat thought.
Extravedettblond
Absolutely delicious! My boyfriend who’s usually very picky, loved it!
Nick
Will you ever have a YouTube channel on how to make this? I’m a visual learner like literally but I’ll do my best on making this
Nikki
This was an incredibly tasty, gourmet tasting meal that came together in 30 minutes – perfect! My toddler and husband both cleaned their plates, and the toddler even requested a second serving! Win!! Thank you!
Joann Meitler
yummy my family loved it. i didn’t have fish sauce it still was great!
Shelley
This was delicious! I added half of the peanut butter and half of the fish sauce. It was smooth and creamy. My husband tells me it has to go on the rotation. Great recipe (and I’m kinda picky!).
Shelley
This was delicious! I added half of the peanut butter and half of the fish sauce. It was smooth and creamy. My husband tells me it has to go on the. Rotation. Great recipe (and I’m kinda picky!).
Thank you for coming back around to let us know Shelley.
Kadi
This recipe exceeded my expectations! Omg perfect mix of sweet and spicy! I feel like a gourmet chef. So amazing.
Nancy
I made this last night! Oh yum oh! Definitely a keeper. In fact there was a small serving left, which I just ate for breakfast! Haha!
Jeanie
The photos look beautiful, and I liked how you cooked the shrimp, but the sauce was just way off. I guess it’s partially my fault for expecting it to taste Thai, and not realizing how much of an “interpretation” this was. I was able to rescue it with curry paste and some more coconut milk. Looking back at the comments now, a lot of people had the same issues with the taste.
Helen Stirling
Just made this now, yes a bit salty, should I add more coconut milk ????? Other than that I’ll see what the family thinks later when I add the rice or egg noodles. Will keep you updated
Marta
Hi, Heidi! Not trying to be snarky (is that a word?) or anything but at least 2 comments asked about the yellow color of this dish & I didn’t find a reply from you on this…is it just the photo or did you add curry or some other ingredient? I would love to make your recipe but before I do, I’d like to know…..thanks so much!
AJ
Fish Sauce – I’m highly allergic to fish (as in “fin & scale”) can I substitute clam juice instead? Thx!
Miss B
I made this last night and I agree with it being too salty to start (even though I used high quality fish sauce)- to cut that I added an extra table spoon of brown sugar, a bit more coconut milk, and threw in some hot curry powder for extra flavour then it was totally delicious. For a bit more color I added in some snow peas to the peppers and onions. People just need to experiment a little if they find it not to their taste profile. I served it over organic jasmine rice and there was not a drop left in the pan after dinner. Thanks for a great recipe.
I’m so glad you made it fit to your liking Miss B, those are all great tips to tweak the flavor profile. Thank you!!
Cheryl
Just a thought, but maybe the over saltiess complaints are because people are using a regular salt and not kosher salt? Kosher salt has larger crystals. I made that mistake once with a recipe and it was crazy salty.
That could totally be a game changer Cheryl. I always use Kosher salt as it has less of an iodine flavor to me.
Bridget
Could rice be the answer to the salty/not too salty debate? I took a bite without rice and it was super salty. With the rice, it is perfect! Even my salt-sensitive husband asked for me to make this again! I eliminated the salt in the marinade and only used 4 tbsp of fish sauce, but those were the only changes. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Bridget
I used “Red Boat” fish sauce because we already had it in our fridge. :)
Beth Kirton
I don’t think the fish sauce is the . I think it’s cooking the curry in the shrimp skillet with all that salt from the marinade. I would suggest wiping out the skillet before adding the peppers back in. The brand of fish sauce isn’t going to make or break the salt level. I also thought it needed a bit of acid at the end, squeeze a lime wedge on each serving.
Beth Kirton
*problem
rebecca
could you add green curry paste to this? we like it extra spicy.. I know it will change the color but not concerned with that… can’t wait to try this out!!
Deanna Ramos
best food I have eaten in a long time. It’s a favorite between my husband and myself. He was asking me to make it the next day also. I used 3 tsp. Of fish sauce. We love Thai food.
Deanna Ramos
My husband and I love Thai food. We just made it and finished eating. This recipe was delicious and I’m sure we will be eating this again very soon
Susan
Your sauce looks a lovely yellowish colour, how did you achieve that?
Tamanna
One of my favorites in Thai Restaurant. Tried it last night, It was simple, fast and tasty. Will try with chicken soon. Thanks and Love!
Ginger
Phenomenal! Loved it so much! Even reheated.
Mary
This has become a household staple. We actually made it TWICE last week it was so yummy! All your recipes are so easy to make and follow. You have brought some delightful variety to our family dinners. Thank you!
daniel
We just made this tonight. It was so good. You got a very good restaurant quality recipe here, i highly recommend.