Jamaica Mon!

Finally!  A breather! I was hoping to continue blogging while the move was going on but that was a pipe dream apparently.  Moving and getting internet connection as well as taking a cross-country drive to Vancouver and coming back a week later to unpack really takes a lot out of a girl! Whew!  I’m so glad that’s over, and now that I am totally and completely unpacked and acquainted with my new kitchen I can get back to my cooking. Let’s see… where was I?… right! The letter J and Jamaica! 

Yes, the title is corny but I couldn’t think of anything better to introduce this Jamaican dish.

Jamaica is an island in the Great Antilles located in the Caribbean Sea about 145 km south of Cuba. It is 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length approx. kilometres (50 mi) in width, amounting to 11,100 km sq. It’s indigenous Taino inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the “Land of Wood and Water”, or the “Land of Springs”. The capital is Kingston.

Interesting Facts:
- It was formerly a Spanish possession known as Santiago and it later became the British Crown colony of Jamaica. It remains part of the Commonwealth with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State.
- Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494.

Recipe: Shrimp in Coconut Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined and pre-cooked
4 med. red-skin potatoes, diced
½ cup chopped onions
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup diced tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk/cream
2 teaspoon paprika
2 stalks scallion, chopped in small pieces
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 dried red chilis, chopped finely

Warm oil on medium heat.
Add potatoes and saute over low heat until just barely tender, stirring constantly. Then add onions, and scallion and let that saute until onions are transparent.
Add garlic, paprika and curry powder.
Cook over low heat for approx. 3 mins, stirring constantly.
Add the coconut cream or milk, thyme, chilis and tomatoes, and cook for 3 mins on medium heat – stir often, to prevent coconut milk from drying out.
Finally, add the shrimp and cook for another 5 mins (until shrimp is tenderly cooked).
Serve on its own or over rice.

NOTES:
The recipe calls specifically for red potatoes but I had yellow ones available and instead of buying the red-skinned potatoes, why not use what I have available? So I did, and it turned out well. I also used the canned Thai Kitchen brand cocout milk, I found that its the best coconut milk I’ve used. Although the recipe wants for 1 cup (250ml) I did use the whole can, just because I do love coconut milk dut it didn’t really make the recipe runny, I just found it more coconut-y.
You can buy dried chilies or you can dry your own. A friend of mine gave me some red chilies from the garden and I just left them out, they dried beautifully. I did scoop out most of the seeds before cutting just to make the spicyness less intense.

Verdict:
Ok, yes, it seems like all I do make a lot of coconut and shrimp recipes. It’s great that so many countries have their own variations. I don’t really think you can go wrong with both of those ingredients in one dish. I loved this over rice. It was lovely. I do hope you try it sometime. It was quick and easy.