Caribbean Coconut Shrimp Dip Recipe. A Great Spicy Shrimp Dip

Feeling a little nostalgic for the heat of summer? Try this easy Caribbean shrimp dish at home and beat those winter blahs a-packing! Seriously, the flavor and aromas of rich coconut milk simmered thick with loads of garlic, chili and tomato will put a smile on your face, and if winter's giving you chills – the Thai bird chili should spread a little warmth…

I serve this in the restaurant as an appetizer with freshly made flour tortillas. Sourdough bread would be a fantastic substitution, if tortillas are not on hand.

Caribbean Coconut Shrimp Dip…With a Chili Kick

(This is super easy too, and the quantities-list as follows is pretty casual. You will need to taste this as you go to get the seasoning right, but the flavors go together so well, that it's hard to go wrong.)

• 1 250 ml box of coconut milk (not the canned gloopy coconut cream stuff, a la coco Lopez – just the regular milk that you get from squeezing coconut meat.)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 3 Thai bird chilis. A great substitute here is about ½ of one habanero pepper!
• A couple of Tbls of olive oil for frying
• 4 plum tomatoes (blackened and peeled) (you can substitute about 6 canned tomatoes if you'd rather)
• Salt
• 1 lb of completely peeled shrimp (tail removed)

1. Blacken the tomatoes under a hot broiler. Turn the broiler to high and place your tomatoes close to the heat, turning about once a minute, until they are blackened and peeling all over (about 5 minutes). You can do this on a BBQ grill if you prefer – just toss the tomatoes straight onto a hot grill and turn occasionally until blackened all over.
2. Let the tomatoes cool off a bit, then remove the blackened skins and roughly chop up the flesh. (Remember, if you don't feel like going to all this trouble, you can just substitute about 6 regular old canned plum tomatoes instead)
3. Heat a good heavy skillet over medium heat, and heat your olive oil. When hot, add in your chopped garlic, and let sauté for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
4. Immediately add in all the chopped onion, and stir occasionally, taking care to ensure that neither the onions nor the garlic browns. Let sauté for about 3 minutes, and then add in the coconut milk.
5. Turn the heat up high, and boil the mixture down until it has the consistency of a thick cream sauce.
6. Add in the chili and the tomato. Bring the mixture back to a boil, and let thicken once again.
7. Season with a couple of generous pinches of salt, and taste, adding more salt if necessary.
8. Turn the heat down to a simmer.
9. Sprinkle a couple more pinches of salt on your raw shrimp, and then toss them all into the coconut cream sauce mixture.
10. Let the shrimp simmer until cooked. The time will depend on the size of the shrimp – with very small shrimps done in about a minute – very big ones will take as long as 5.

Serve in small bowls of ramekins for individual eating. Serve along side good crusty bread or flour tortillas.