Shrimp, Cilantro and Tamarind Soup
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1pound large raw shrimp, fresh or frozen, shelled and deveined
- 4cups warm water
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1small yellow or white onion, peeled and finely minced
- 4garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- ¼cup tomato paste
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 1tablespoon tamarind paste (not concentrate)
- Kosher salt
- 1bunch cilantro, leaves and stems minced
- 1green chile, such as serrano or Thai chile, thinly sliced
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
196 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 988 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Place the shrimp and the water in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat until the shrimp turns pink, about 10 minutes for fresh shrimp and 15 minutes for frozen. Increase the heat to high, bring the liquid to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Separate the shrimp and the liquid, and reserve both.
- Step 2
Wipe the saucepan dry with a clean paper towel. Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium. Add the onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the tomato paste begins to deepen in color. Add the black pepper and tamarind paste, then stir in the reserved cooking liquid and mix until fully combined. Taste and season with salt.
- Step 3
Increase the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Remove from heat and fold in the reserved shrimp, cilantro and green chile. Serve hot.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
CresentValley
You can use 1 part tamarind concentrate, 2 parts water to make the paste. so 1 teaspoon concentrate. 2 teaspoons water.
lovely summer dish
After reading comments about blandness, I decided to forgo my usual protocol of making recipes as written for the first trial. I cooked the shrimp in their shells with some garlic, mustard seeds, salt and pepper. Sautéed the onions, garlic and Serrano pepper much longer than stated. Served it over a bit of basmati rice and added chopped green onions. A little extra work to let the shrimp cool enough to shell, but worth it. definitely a keeper.
DavidMC
I like to read all the notes before I start. The whole can of tomato paste, perfect. My tamarind paste substitute was rice vinegar and brown sugar. I also added a package of ramen noodles and I sautéed my Thai chilies with the onion in the beginning. Most excellent. Salted to taste.
Nick B.
Like several others, I added the whole can of tomato paste for a thicker consistency. I sometimes add one cup uncooked (~2.5 cups cooked) farro at the very end to turn this recipe into more of a hearty stew. The original recipe is quite good as is, but I make this altered version when I’m looking to make a full meal out of it.
Nana
Tasty dish, even though I used tamarind concentrate! I also added a lot of cabbage, some carrots and tamari.
John Mc
Delicious! One contention: the cooking time for the shrimp is too long, resulting in paste-y shrimp (10-15 mins on low heat followed by a boil is overkill). Pull them after the low-heat bath then throw on some ice. You can toss them back into the completed soup to re-heat for firmer shrimp. I also followed the note recommendation to cook the shrimp in their full shells, leading to a richer stock that's, well, shrimpier! Finally, squeeze some lime juice in for some acidic, tart balance. Yum!
Shawna T
Made as directed. Got the tamarind from amazon. This soup wasn’t bad the night I made it but was MUCH better the next day!
Roberta
I found this broth to be a little dull. It was helped by a little heat, but I felt it needed something.
Beth from WA
The shells of shrimp add a lot of flavor. I did not want to shuck hot shrimp. I shucked them first, them added shrimp and shells to the water. Easy to fish the shrimp out of the strainer.
John Mc
A great recipe! One contention: Don't subject the shrimp to the suggested cooking time. Makes them pasty, overcooked. Pull them as soon as they're pink, throw them on some ice, then throw them back into the completed soup once heated through again. A marvelous, hearty dish. I also followed the note that recommended cooking the shrimp in their full shells. Leads to a much richer stock.
miles
Used garlic infused olive oil instead of any g cloves or onion. Also sautéed strips of ginger. Added about 1.5 cups of green leek tops to shrimp broth but removed before combination with entire soup
BobbyG
Turned out really bland and watery. I added rice noodles, more Tomato paste, and some fish sauce and it was delicious.
JHN
Did not have tamarind on hand. I made a miso, fish sauce, refined sugar, juice of 1 key lime, slurry. Not too much of these ingredients. It worked out nicely.
Sarah Wauters
I loved this! So easy. It needs a little addition to make it a full meal - I think adding par boiled potatoes and green beans would work well.
Tantasticalli
I used tomato purée instead of tomato paste, to keep it fresh. in the purée added some green chillies and ginger to add that spunk. Also added curry leaves with onions and garlic to give a more Goan taste. Having lived in Goa, these are all ingredients we put in the food everyday and added more homeliness to the dish! loved it.
DRL
I added tomato quarters, bean sprouts and pineapple. Great recipe!
Rupali
Sauté thai chili peppers with onions
Beth from WA
The shells of shrimp add a lot of flavor. I did not want to shuck hot shrimp. I shucked them first, them added shrimp and shells to the water. Easy to fish the shrimp out of the strainer.
Dottie M
I dumped a bag of shelled frozen shrimp in my InstantPot along with the water, set it on "Soup", and made the onions, etc. in a skillet while the shrimp were cooking. When the shrimp and its broth were done simultaneously with the sautéd ingredients, I added the latter to the InstantPot, stirred and topped the soup with the cilantro and serrano pepper. it was definitely flavorful!
BobbyG
Turned out really bland and watery. I added rice noodles, more Tomato paste, and some fish sauce and it was delicious.
miles
Used garlic infused olive oil instead of any g cloves or onion. Also sautéed strips of ginger. Added about 1.5 cups of green leek tops to shrimp broth but removed before combination with entire soup
John Mc
Delicious! One contention: the cooking time for the shrimp is too long, resulting in paste-y shrimp (10-15 mins on low heat followed by a boil is overkill). Pull them after the low-heat bath then throw on some ice. You can toss them back into the completed soup to re-heat for firmer shrimp. I also followed the note recommendation to cook the shrimp in their full shells, leading to a richer stock that's, well, shrimpier! Finally, squeeze some lime juice in for some acidic, tart balance. Yum!
John Mc
A great recipe! One contention: Don't subject the shrimp to the suggested cooking time. Makes them pasty, overcooked. Pull them as soon as they're pink, throw them on some ice, then throw them back into the completed soup once heated through again. A marvelous, hearty dish. I also followed the note that recommended cooking the shrimp in their full shells. Leads to a much richer stock.
Talia
Hi for us non-shrimp eaters (i know it wont be the same...) do you think I could sub some cubes of tofu and use a more flavorful broth instead of water? Would adding fish sauce help?
gk
There’s definitely something missing here. The sourness of the tamarind and the heat of the chile (I used a serrano) overpower the flavors of everything else. This might work better over rice as others have suggested here or with some other source of starchiness like beans or lentils.
LBT
I liked this soup! I recently bought tamarind paste for something else so the title of the recipe caught my eye. I tossed in some shrimp paste with the tomato paste and we found the soup broth very flavorful. The serrano packs a punch. I will make it again.
Lisa C
I added fish sauce for seasoning and sambal oelek for heat. Poured over cooked ramen for a nice lunch.
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