Curry shrimp is a classic Jamaican dish. It is a staple in my home because it is ridiculously easy to make, healthy, and “nice” enough to impress any guests. The real secret is the scotch bonnet pepper added to the other spices. It is one of those uncomplicated dishes that is really about having fresh ingredients and letting them shine. I usually eat it with some white rice and maybe a few slices of ripe avocado. Though I am sure other healthier grains such as farro would be a great substitute.
Curry Shrimp
Take 1 lb of shrimp and clean and devain each one but leave the tails on (it adds to the flavor). If you are not sure how to clean shrimp here is a great video.
Raw shrimp.
Gather all of your vegetables and chop as noted in the recipe below. Be very careful with the scotch bonnet pepper and make sure remove all of the seeds. Try to only touch the stem not the actual pepper.
Get your ingredients together.
When combining all of my ingredients I usually use a large steel bowl because curry tends to stain but just use whatever you have on hand.
Serve the curry shrimp with rice.
Classically Jamaican curry shrimp is served with white rice but as I said above it would be fantastic with some farro. I topped mine with a bit of the leftover chopped scallion. Serve with a few slices of avocado and enjoy! And just a note is the perfect dish to make ahead or have for leftovers for lunch as it is delicious the next day.
Happy cooking!
- 1 lb of shrimp
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 9 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 4 large scallion, chopped (separate into a darker green end pile and the lighter end pile)
- 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, chopped and seeds removed
- Handful of thyme stalks (about 8)
- 2 tbsp of Jamaican curry powder and 1 tsp of curry powder
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp pepper
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1/2 Accent (optional)
- Combine the cleaned shrimp (with tails left on), garlic, white ends of chopped scallion, scotch bonnet pepper, thyme (whole stalks), 2 tbsp of curry powder, sugar, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Set the bowl aside and put a large pan over medium heat. Put olive oil, butter, and 1 tsp of curry powder in the pan.
- Mix the ingredients in the pan for about 2 minutes. Then pour the shrimp mixture into the pan. Let mixture cook in the pan for about 3 minutes.
- Add cornstarch, 1/3 cup of water and accent (optional) to the pan and let cook through for 2 minutes. The sauce should thicken.
- Remove shrimp from the heat. Remove stalks of thyme and top with the rest of the chopped scallion (the darker green end).
- Enjoy!
Photography by Tiffanie Graham
Tiffanie Graham spends her days working as a Photo Editor at W Magazine in New York City. 
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