What has the power to transport you back home when you are far, far away and missing it terribly? For me, it is food! I confess the rich and diverse cuisine of my home country makes impossible to choose only one dish. When I think about home, several dishes spring right to mind. This creamy one pot shrimp in coconut sauce (camarão no leite de coco) had the power to transport my sweet Brazil onto my plate this time — and all the memories of those good old days. It is easy, summery, comforting — and SUPER delish… just like home!
This shrimp in coconut sauce (or camarão no leite de coco) is a trip to Ceará, a state in my Northeastern region where the recipe originally comes from. It is still a trip to Bahia, an Afro-Brazilian state in that same region since the dish is somewhat similar to its famous Bahian-style seafood stew known as Moqueca de Camarão. What it makes the dish a bit different from moqueca is the absence of palm oil and chunky vegetables. Note that cream cheese, basil, and red jalapenos were added to our Shrimp in Coconut Sauce — as they reflect our personal touch to the traditional recipe.
But the thing is, its aroma while cooking on the stove top still announces all of its boldness of flavor and contrasting textures… something very Northeastern, very home-sweet-home.
Time is not a problem in this case. This shrimp in coconut sauce can be prepared in about 30 minutes… and using simple ingredients such as jumbo shrimp, vegetables, coconut milk, fresh herbs, and spices. It can preferably be served over white rice — or noodles if you desire.
It is Latin food at its best!
Most importantly, it is a trip to the amazing flavors of tropical Brazil… home for me and an awarding and economical trip for you! 😉
As they say in Bahia, AXÉ!!! (a Yoruba language term meaning ‘power’ or ‘energy’)… and in Ceará, OXE! (Oh, wow!)
Easy Shrimp in Coconut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds jumbo raw shrimp (deveined, both shell and tail removed)
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 3 gloves garlic 1 minced and 2 coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- ½ large white or yellow onion peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 large orange or red bell pepper de-seeded and sliced
- 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 2 leaves large basil plus more to garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley plus more to garnish
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 large lime, juiced)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika optional
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 red jalapeno pepper thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
-
Place the peeled shrimp in a bowl with 1 Tablespoon of oil, one minced garlic clove, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Toss to coat and let marinade while cooking the vegetables..
-
Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and let cook for approximately 3 minutes. Add the 2 coarsely chopped garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute. Add the canned diced tomatoes, basil, and cilantro/parsley. Let cook for about 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a blender and set aside.
-
Add the 2 remaining Tablespoons of oil to the skillet and cook the shrimp for 2 minutes, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or it until starts getting pink. Transfer the shrimp to a plate or bowl.
-
Add the coconut milk, chicken/vegetable broth, lime juice, ground ginger, paprika (optional), and the remaining salt and pepper to the cooked, reserved vegetables and blend everything until vegetables are completely ground and mixture is homogeneous. Transfer blended mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil; then reduce to simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted and the sauce is creamy and homogeneous. Add the cooked shrimp to the skillet and toss to coat. Garnish with basil leaves, chopped cilantro/parsley, and slices of red jalapeno pepper if desired. Serve over white rice (preferably) or noodles. Enjoy!
Oh my, the sauce sounds heavenly! I adore shrimp so this recipe will be made soon, serving with a big pot of rice to capture all that outstanding flavor. Bravo!
Yes, food is what connects me to home or memories of home too.
I absolutely need this shrimp recipe in my life, what an amazing combination of tastes and flavours, loving that cheeky hint of cream cheese so much. Hope you are well my friend. 🙂
Food carries such memories, doesn’t it? And this dish could carry nothing but good memories! SO nice — I’ll bet the flavor of this is wonderful. Good stuff — thanks.
This sounds wonderful and such a fun new way to use coconut milk. I just happen to have a big bag of shrimp in the freezer…
I hope you can make this and enjoy, Chris!
Food always bring people together and also bring memories back, with the delicious smell of mothers and grandmothers cooking, food can bring tears to my eyes- those kind that are not from smelling onions :). Love your recipe and it is indeed colored for summer.
This is a life changing dish. So wonderful yet simple to make. I just love coconut flavoured sauces and gravies and this one is flavoured with spices as well. Ca’t wait to try it! It’s going to make a gorgeous Friday night dinner.
Bahia…I’m still dreaming with Bahia.
I will definitely need a lot of rice with that super delicious sauce!
Yum!
Denise, this looks AMAZING! I want this for dinner tonight! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I love how food can hold such strong memories for us. Pinned! Can’t wait to taste a bit of your home. 🙂
I could use some of that ‘Axé’ now to lift me out of the chilly winter here in Adelaide. This looks like a lovely dish. It reminds me of a dish I did called ‘Coconut Curried Shrimp’, but without the curry spice. Thanks so much!
I made this! it’s so delicious! I didn’t have to alter the recipe at all. Perfect… I am going to add this to my recipe box! Thank you thank you!
Loved the recipe, Denise! I will definitely try it out. Thank you so much for sharing this easy and yummy recipe 😀
My husband absolutely loves shrimp. This gives me a new way to please his pallegivesSo easy. So delicious.
Hi Cydney! It’s so good to have you vising us here. I hope you get the chance to make my family new fave seafood dish and enjoy. Sending our love. xx
Do you have the nutritional info, calorie,,,carb count?
Carrie, unfortunately not yet. We have been working on this. It will be our next feature here. Thank you for reaching out!
Oh My Word!!!! I just made this for Sunday dinner…..didn’t alter the recipe AT ALL…..and it ís absolutely delicious!!!!! So simple to make. And you wanna talk about flavorful?! This is a definite add to my recipe book. I pinned it to my food board on Pinterest forever ago. Last week I told my daughter to scroll through and pick something for Sunday dinner. I’m soooooo glad she picked this one ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi, Monique! I am so glad you enjoyed this stew, a real family favorite! I hope you come back for more delicious recipes. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask them. Have a marvelous week!
I am so exited to make this! I bet it tastes so good. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Ester xoxo
Thank you for stopping by Ester! I hope you make this dish and enjoy!
Do you think you could do this without the cream cheese?
Hi Lindsey! If desired you can skip the cream cheese but it won’t be creamy as if had cream cheese. Since you intend to make without it, please add less coconut milk than stated in the recipe or use a bit of cornstarch to thicken the stew like you would to a gravy. Enjoy!
WOW ! This is fantastic You can taste everything. Nothing is overpowering. I will always have this when my husband says someone is coming home with him and I have an hour. Won’t they be surprised ? Thank you.
Thank you, Pat!
I am so glad you enjoyed this family favorite. Have a delicious week!
Denisse this is my first time here and trust me: I’ll be back frequently! I’m in love with this recipe! Best, Enri
Love this recipe!! I will add some pepper flakes to give it some heat!
I’m allergic to shrimp but will try this recipe with tofu.
Denisse, love your dish. I love how we can have dinner en 30 minutes. Shrimp cooks so fast and I love how it always takes the flavor of the sauce.
I’ll be trying this over the weekend and will report back! Very excited! I’m low carb so I’ll be putting it over cauliflower rice. The one thing I am questioning is the amount of oil. 5 tbsp seems like overkill. Do you think I could scale back to 3 and it still be delish?
Hi, Jenalys! You can certainly use less oil especially if you cook this stew in a no stick pan. I would suggest to use 1 1/2 TBSP oil for the vegetables and 1 1/2 TBSP oil for the shrimp. I hope you enjoy this family favorite!