Chef Ann Kim’s Curried Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

Curry sauce (recipe follows)

Grits (recipe follows)

Vegetable or canola oil

2 lb. raw shrimp (such as 16/20)

Salt

2 tbsp. shallots, finely chopped

1 tbsp. garlic, minced

¼ cup white wine

6 oz. cold butter, cubed

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

Lemon wedges

Toasted bread to soak up sauce

1 cup bacon, diced

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup red bell pepper, diced

1½ tsp. chili flakes

2 tsp. curry powder

1½ tsp. paprika

2 tbsp. Worcestershire

1 tbsp. garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs thyme

3 cups canned tomatoes, diced and smashed

½ lb. andouille sausage

3 cups shrimp stock (can substitute fish stock or chicken stock)

¾ cups coconut milk

1½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

4 cups water

1 cup grits

¼ cup heavy cream

1½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Hot sauce to taste (any vinegar-based variety such as Tabasco or Crystal)

4 tbsp. butter

Directions

Make the curry sauce: Render down bacon on high heat until crispy. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and sauté until the vegetables are soft.

Once the vegetables have cooked, add chili flakes, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire and cook for another couple minutes.

Add garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook until the garlic is cooked, but not brown.

Add tomatoes and andouille and cook until the andouille is heated through.

Pour in shrimp stock and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes.

Finish with coconut milk, salt, and black pepper. Taste the sauce to ensure the seasoning is to your liking. It may need a little more salt and pepper.

Make the grits: In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Whisk in grits and reduce heat to a simmer. Use a whisk to stir up grits every few minutes to make sure they don’t settle at the bottom and burn. Continue for 20–25 minutes depending on your grits. For more coarse grits, the process will take longer and require more liquid.

Once the grits are soft with no bite, add heavy cream, salt, pepper, and few dashes of hot sauce. The acid will balance out the natural sweetness of the corn and add more complexity to the grits.

Whisk cold butter into the grits. This will make the grits even richer and creamier.

Assemble: Heat a large sauté pan or a shallow stock pot on high heat. Coat bottom of pan with oil. Once the oil is very hot, add the shrimp. (Make sure the shrimp are not too wet—if so, the water will pop and you won’t get a good sear.) Season with salt and cook until you see a little browning on the edges.

Add shallots and sauté for a minute. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Deglaze the pan or pot with white wine.

Add the previously made sauce and bring to a boil. Remove shrimp and set aside if fully cooked to avoid overcooking. Reduce sauce to a simmer and whisk in cold butter.

Spoon previously made grits in a bowl. Pile shrimp on top of grits. Pour sauce over shrimp. Garnish with green onions and serve with lemon wedges.