Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

Hold on... don't turn away! Do not let the title scare you! Yes, there is peanut butter, but it's so complimentary! Like other curry dishes with peanuts, just think of this one as using the creamed version!

A couple weeks ago, I went on a date and we made this meal in an Iron Chef competition with other dates. Our secret ingredient was peanut butter and this is what we turned out with. The original recipe came from here, but I made some modifications.

Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• One 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt
• 1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Pepper
• 2 cups shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
• 3 heads bok choy, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 pint (about 1 cup) cherry tomatoes

1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the curry powder. Add the chicken broth, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in 2 tablespoons peanut butter until smooth. Add the coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Season to taste with salt. Keep the sauce warm over low heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter with 3 tablespoons warm water until smooth. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and brush with the thinned peanut butter. Mix in coconut and toss until shrimp is fully coated.

3. In a medium skillet, warm 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add the bok choy and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until the bok choy and tomatoes are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Keep warm.

4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and fry until the bottoms are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently stir shrimp; drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon oil around the edge of the skillet. Lower the heat and fry until the other sides are golden, about 1 more minute. Spoon the reserved sauce into the center of 4 serving plates. Divide the bok choy mixture among the plates and top each serving with spoonful of shrimp.