Shrimp Curry - Paul Prudhomme

After a few hours of walking about the Fancy Food Show, I needed a prolonged rest. I remembered from the program they had a guest chef demonstration. It was just before noon, so I walked over to find less than 10 people patiently waiting for someone who looked like and turned out to be Paul Prudhomme. I took my position front row on the center aisle and started chatting with Paul. I inquired if I could take his picture, which he countered only if I joined him in the picture. So I surrendered my camera and posed with the Chef. I then introduced him to LTHforum for any Chicago-centric food and restaurant information.

At noon, he promptly began cooking a shrimp curry. He used Teflon pans, for the initial stages he added butter to cook the onions. Later, when he cooked the shrimp he added no oil to the pan, though he mixed in oil and seasonings to the shrimp before cooking. I inquired if he used Teflon pans in his restaurant kitchen, not at all but Teflon is convenient, light and easy to clean for demonstration purposes. He then explained his best kitchen resource has been the guy who maintains and repairs his restaurant’s stoves. The guy tweaks them to BTU’s beyond the manufacturer’s specs and keeps them running a good 10 years beyond their expected useful life. Yes, that was his answer to whether they use Teflon pans in his kitchen.

Paul discussed his Mother's ability to maximize flavor by knowing when to prepare ingredients fast or slow. He then explained as the 13th child, and perhaps not the youngest, he worked with his Mother to help feed the family. He said if they had a chicken, it was an older chicken who no longer laid eggs. If it was a pig, it was one who could no longer bear piglets or a cow who no longer offered milk, they came to the table as animals of 3-4 years of age. Slow, moist cooking was the best way to maximize flavor and tenderize these animals. Remembering our recent mature duck query, I asked again about cooking mature fowl. He reminded me the tough tendons turn to tender gelatinous strands under slow and careful cooking.

The best treat of all was being presented with a sample of Shrimp curry made by Paul Prudhomme himself. The recipe is adapted below:

Curried Shrimp – Makes 6 cups

Seasoning mix:
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cardamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground dried ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic

Mix the above in a small bowl.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped onions
2 very ripe bananas, finely diced (banana should be black and runny for max. flavor)
1/4 cup finely diced ripe chili peppers
1 cup chopped yellow or red bell peppers
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup hazelnuts
1 cup shrimp stock
1 (13.5 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 (8 ounce) container plain or vanilla yogurt
1 pound peeled shrimp

Preheat 2-quart pot over high heat for several minutes. Add butter, then onions, some seasoning and bananas. Thoroughly mix onions, butter and bananas before adding the chili peppers, bell peppers, raisins, hazelnuts and seasoning mix. Reduce heat to medium, continuously stirring as mixture thickens for 15 minutes. Add stock and continue stirring until heavy and thick in about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan. To the shrimp add a tablespoon of oil and seasoning mix. Add shrimp to frying pan and partially cook, then remove from the stove.

To the sauce, add coconut milk and yogurt and bring to a boil, then add shrimp. Stir and reduce heat to low and cook until shrimp are cooked in about 3-4 minutes.

(I will edit in pictures later)