Burmese Stir-Fried Garlicky Shrimp

Pazun Hsipyan

These shrimp (pazun) are stir-fried until the "oil resurfaces" (hsipyan). Most of the effort in preparing this dish is spent in shelling and deveining the shrimp, which take no time at all to cook. Keep this recipe in your repertoire of dishes that can be prepared in a hurry. The shrimp can be cleaned and marinated in advance and then cooked just before serving.

Ingredients:

1 lb. shrimp, shelled & deveined
6 Tbsp. vegetable oil
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled & diced
1 large onion, peeled, halved & sliced in thin crescents
1 large tomato, diced
1 serrano pepper, diced
1 bunch cilantro stems, diced
1/2 tsp. Kashmiri mirch or paprika
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Marinate shrimp with turmeric & fish sauce for 15 minutes or longer.
2. Heat oil in a skillet/wok over medium-high heat and add paprika.
3. Stir-fry onions, peppers & garlic until onions are translucent.
4. Lower heat to medium, add tomatoes & simmer until oil resurfaces.
5. Add shrimp & cilantro stems and stir-fry until shrimp are no longer pink.
6. Adjust salt to taste & serve immediately over steamed long-grain rice.

Note: No water is used in cooking this dish. The gravy/sauce is the light olive oil (white & odorless) that I used which turned red from Kashmiri mirch and tomatoes.