Tamarind Honey Shrimp from Sirocco

Iranians love all things sour. So says Sabrina Ghayour, author of the colorful, brilliantly colorful, Sirocco. Iranian recipes abound with lemons, limes, pomegranate molasses, young plums and tamarind. Here tamarind paste, with its tartness, is married with honey to create, along with some chili oil, a marinade that embraces jumbo shrimp.

This is not an instant dish. That marinade takes 30 minutes to rest and allow the flavors to marry properly. It’s worth the wait. If you love sticky, sweet, and things verging on caramelization, then this dish is ideal for your summer table.

The glorious photo is by Haarala Hamilton.

Tamarind Honey Shrimp

Yield: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

3 ½ ounces tamarind paste
⅓ cup honey
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons chili oil (or olive oil, if you prefer)
Flaky sea salt

For the shrimp:

1 ¾ pounds raw jumbo shrimp (the biggest you can find), ideally peeled but with the tails left on
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 heaping teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
½ ounce cilantro, leaves roughly chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced from root to tip

Preparation:

To prepare the marinade, thoroughly blend the ingredients in a mixing bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the shrimp and work the marinade into them using your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in a little vegetable oil. Drain any excess marinade from the shrimp, then fry them quickly on both sides until they are cooked through and slightly charred. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the shrimp – if using standard supermarket shrimp, you won’t need to cook them for more than 1 minute or so each side. But if you are using larger, meatier shrimp, you may need to reduce the heat slightly and allow them to cook for a little longer. The marinade is sticky and sweet, which means it will blacken in the pan slightly, so don’t panic if the shrimp look charred. They will still taste delicious. Serve sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, cilantro and chopped scallions.