Welcome to Read it, Make it, Write it, a Mid-Manhattan Library cooking blog showing some of the most amazing cookbooks available at The New York Public Library and the endless variety of healthy and delicious recipes right at your fingertips, for free!

The goal is simple: I pick a cookbook of my interest from the Library's collections, research the recipe and its ingredients, make the dish, eat it (which is my absolute favorite part), and finally — write about it.

My first dish is the recipe for Curry Shrimp with Peas

Serves: two people

Ingredients

3/4 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (7 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 pound large shrimp, peeled
1/2 cup packed basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup packed cilantro, chopped
1 (5-ounce) package thawed frozen peas

Jasmine rice, cooked according to package direction

I am not a vegetarian, but from time to time I do look for recipe dishes that requires no meat. I am a huge lover of seafood, so when I stumbled upon this amazing recipe for curried shrimp with green peas and jasmine rice from the book The $5 Takeout Cookbook: Good, Cheap Food for When You Want to Eat in...

I knew it was meant for me!

The recipe was simple to follow, as you will see below, and the ingredients were all available in Trader Joe's grocery section.

Directions

In a large pot, combine the curry paste, vegetable oil, and 1/4 cup of the coconut milk; cook over medium heat for one to two minutes.
Stir in the remaining coconut milk and cook for another five minutes.
Add the fish sauce and sugar and cook for one minute more.
Add the shrimp, basil, and cilantro; reduce heat slightly and cook for four to five minutes, or until the shrimp is almost done.
Add the peas and cook two minutes more.
Serve over jasmine rice.

My Overall Review

A heavenly taste of seafood sweetness, which goes well with the jasmine rice!

I absolutely enjoyed making this dish. It took me less than 15 minutes to completely cook the meal. (That's shorter than food delivery, might I add!)

Finding the ingredients was very easy. I purchased everything at Trader Joe's, located in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. The total cost was around $20, which is actually not bad since I could get about three sets of meals from this purchase.

The only item I did not add from the recipe was the fish sauce, because I didn't see the need to. I was already using a seafood ingredient (shrimp), so why mess with the flavor? I did, however; add chopped onions, which I am a sucker for in all my curried dishes. It did no harm to the meal at all.

As you can see from the picture, the green peas gave this meal a pop of color. Add that with the aroma of the basil and cilantro seasoning, and it will surely make the non-meat eater crave a taste.

Jasmine rice is one of the very few types of rice I enjoy. Knowing how to boil it to the point where it's not too soft or too hard, the finished product can pretty much make a meal all by itself. I did that with my leftovers.

Personally, I think this dish deserves a full grade A

It was quick ✔
It was affordable ✔
It was delicious ✔

Definitely an A plus!