A shrimp marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce served with sauteed bell peppers paired with ripe yellow plantains. This recipe is so good that it can be served for lunch for a weeknight dinner.
Calling all seafood lovers!! This recipe is especially for you, if you love heat with a hint of sweetness then this spicy sweet shrimp and plantains dish has your name written ALL over it.
What can I say, it's so delicious and full of flavoursome, it's also a great way to become acquainted with plantains if you've never tried them before.
What do you do, with some plantains, bell peppers and a pack of shrimp? You get creative and make the perfect shrimp dish.
That's exactly what I did, I brought some plantains to make Pastelon but had 2 left over so I quickly put on my thinking cap and jotted down a recipe that I thought would work.
I tested the recipe a couple of times, making some adjustments (namely for heat) until I was truly satisfied. I feel as if this recipe is now blog worthy.
It's a nice combination of sweetness from the coconut nectar which is low GI sweetness that I like to use and hot from the chilli flakes.
If you cannot source coconut nectar then simply use agave or unrefined maple syrup. Both of these are great diabetic friendly options so they won't cause your blood sugar levels to spike.
Prepping the recipe
Sauteing the bell peppers/onion/garlic - Start by sauteing the onion, garlic bell peppers first of all. Add some coconut oil to a frying pan and saute until tender. This should take a few minutes to achieve.
I like soft bell peppers so I prefer to cook them off with a splash of water during the beginning so they completely soft as I add the rest of the ingredients.
Sweet shrimp sauce - I like to make the sauce first which consists of dried herbs and spices - garlic, paprika, black pepper, mixed herbs (parsley and thyme), water and of course the syrup (coconut nectar).
Let the sauce thicken up and reduce in volume so the flavours can completely release. It takes about 6-8 minutes in total to achieve.
Adding the shrimp and plantains- I would suggest using raw shrimp because this lessen the chance of overcooking the shrimp which would take on a rubbery texture. Add them last, coat them in the sauce and allow the shrimp to cook until they turn pink.
The sweetness of the plantain is determined by the ripeness, if you want extra sweet plantain buy plantain with an almost dark exterior. Pale yellow plantain is firm and not so sweet so pick your poison.
How to make spicy sweet shrimp and plantains
- Melt the coconut oil and proceed to saute the bell peppers, onion and garlic. Add a splash of water and steam the veggies for 5 minutes
- Then add the herbs, paprika, black pepper, coconut nectar, water, onion powder, chilli flakes, garlic granules and pink salt. Bring to a boil, cover the skillet with a lid and allow to thicken for 6-8 minutes.
- Fold in the plantain the finally incorporate the raw shrimp and cook until pink.
Notes and tips
- Use an alternative sweetener if you cannot get hold of coconut nectar
- Raw shrimp is recommended but cooked shrimp works too. Just heat through for more than then 2 minutes to avoid the rubbery texture
- The soft plantains (with the dark almost black skin) tend to be very sweet and absorbs a lot of liquid. Plantains with a more yellow skin are more firm and not as sweet (which I prefer)
Other recipes you may like
Caribbean Style Stewed Mackerel
Garlic Butter Sauteed Shrimp
Crispy Oven Baked Prawn Fritters
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Spicy Sweet Shrimp and Plantains
Ingredients
- 1 lb of raw Shrimp 450g
- 2 Plantains peeled and chopped
- 2 Bell peppers sliced
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 tablespoon of Paprika
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of parsley
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic granules
- ¼ teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of Chilli flakes or omit if you don't want any heat
- 2 tablespoon of Coconut nectar can use agave, maple
- 1 cup of warm water
- ½ teaspoon of pink salt
- 2 tablespoon of coconut oil
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil on medium heat in a skillet
- Proceed to saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers until tender.
- Once tender add a splash of water (approx ¼ cup) to the skillet, reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and allow the peppers to completely soften via steaming for 5 minutes.
- Once the peppers are soft, add the black pepper, herbs, black pepper, garlic, chilli, coconut nectar and water to the pan to make the sauce.
- Bring the skillet to a rolling boil then reduce to low heat stir and allow the sauce to thicken up. This should take 6-8 minutes,
- Around the 6 minute mark fold your plantain pieces into the sauce, coat and cook for 2 minutes before finally adding the shrimp.
- Cook the shrimp until they turn pink to indicate readiness then serve
- Once the sauce has thicken up add the shrimp and cook until pink
Notes
- Use an alternative sweetener if you cannot get hold of coconut nectar
- Raw shrimp is recommended but cooked shrimp works too. Just heat through for more than then 2 minutes to avoid the rubbery texture
- The soft plantains (with the dark almost black skin) tend to be very sweet and absorbs a lot of liquid. Plantains with a more yellow skin are more firm and not as sweet (which I prefer)
Nutrition
Made a variation on this after searching for recipes. My changes: diced some hot pepper in with the onions and garlic instead of using cayenne. (If I had a habanero I would have used that). I didn't have fresh bell peppers so I used a couple of red peppers from a jar, which was great. Also used cilantro instead of parsley. The two biggest changes were adding a can of coconut milk and finishing with half a lime. Really delicious, even if I did make a few changes. The recipe itself was inspiration to come up with a fun dinner. Thanks!
No problem Russ, your variation sounds delicious. I'm glad that I was able to be an inspiration to your dinner and you are very welcome.
Made this for lunch yesterday with some sweet potatoe mash and having for breakfast this morning. So good!
I'm so glad to hear that and thanks for the feedback.