Chili garlic shrimps with coriander paste and Kecap Manis
August 9, 2007
Filed under Asia & beyond, Fish & other seafood
Despite my allergy to all things crustacean, I do cook prawns, shrimps and crabs occasionally for my family. There was a time when seasoning was mostly a hit-and-miss affair since it’s too risky for me to keep on checking how the sauce tastes. I can’t take a small piece of the animal either — that would be a one-way ticket to the emergency room. So, I’ve learned to use approximate amounts of seasonings in accordance with the live weight of the seafood. For instance, it’s 2 tsps. of light soy sauce or 1 tsp. of salt for every 250 grams of prawns or shrimps.
When I cooked the shrimps in the photo above, I had two seasonings/flavorings that I would be using for the first time and I had no idea how much of each was ideal. I discovered a jar of coriander paste and a bottle of Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce) in the supermarket a few weeks ago and, in line with the current craze over Southeast Asian cooking, I bought them. I had a distinct feeling that they would be great with seafood but the correct proportions were something that I needed to discover still.
This dish begins with ghee or clarified butter. For instructions on how to make ghee at home, click here.
You will also need 250 grams of unshelled shrimps, tentacles snipped off.
Heat about 3 tablespoonfuls of ghee in a frying pan. Add half a teaspoonful of dried chili flakes or a finely chopped and deseeded chili pepper (siling labuyo) and a teaspoonful of finely minced garlic. Cook just until fragrant. Throw in the shrimps. Stir. Add a teaspoonful of coriander paste and 2 tablespoonfuls of Kecap Manis. Stir fry just until the shrimps change color.
To be quite honest, I never ate any of the shrimps. But, if it means anything, after eating his first shrimp, my husband asked what I had put in the dish because it was very delicious. No, I didn’t have a knife to his throat when he said that. 
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Hi Ms. Connie,
You’re a mind-reader. I was looking for a new way to cook shrimps other than in oyster-sauce or chili-garlic sauce, and here it is. I’ve been trying sweey soy sauce and I’m excited to try it with coriander.Thanks,again.
btw, can’t help but smile when you referred to the shrimp as the “animal.” My eldest sis and her hubby happen to have a very strong allergy to them too. What’s funny is that they love buying seafood and bringing them to me.
Hope you enjoy them, soloops. My hubby and kids wolfed down the shrimps… and I was looking for leftovers to refrigerate. LOL
Miss Connie, can I ommit the chilli. Hindi ako masyadong mahilig sa maanghang pati husband ko. I’ll try this one. I made a menu list for the whole week and lahat recipe mo.. Thank you uli sa mga recipes..
I’ll try this one, though I would look for another brand of Kekap Manis. The one stocked in your pantry–I really hate that one, tastes like , for lack of a better word, chemical.
I will be anxiously waiting for the cookbook, so far I’ve tried 2 of your recipes—wow, they were a knockout!
Sorry, again for being soooo excited having finally mustering the strength to write you. Have you tasted the scrumptious porkchops at Tasty Dumplings in Binondo? They are really palate pleasers…wondering if you could do a version of it? Thanks. More power!
kekap manis is a sweet soy sauce, a product from indonesia. this looks good, but I don’t eat shrimp but my hubby will certainly love this.
Hi Miss Connie, A little calamansi goes well with this - added after cooking.
On another subject, why do you disable right mouse click on your site? This “security” measure is easily overcome by those wishing to rip off you images etc, but is extreemely frustrating for those who want to follow a hyperlink in another tab without losing the page they are on. For example I wanted to open the “how to make ghee” link but continue to read your page. Please consider enabling.
Hi connie.. am thinking of making this dish tomorrow.. but is there any substitute pra sa ghee?.. i tried making kasi but it didn’t turn out good.. any suggestions?
Tom, left-click while pressing your control button. The page will open in a new tab.
Shiela, there is no substitute but you can always use butter. The cooked dish may taste and appear different though. But if it still tastes good, then, why not?
[...] shrimps (see the chili garlic shrimps recipe in the archive of the main blog) which can be sauteed directly, prawns are much larger and to make [...]