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Chef critique

Burmese Shrimp-Eggplant Curry

The recipe features solid multi-tasking and flavorful components, but it suffers from significant underseasoning across the rice, shrimp, and sauce, as well as a lack of oil for sautéing the aromatics.

Score: 4/10

Suggested fixes

  • Increase the Diamond Crystal kosher salt for the rice to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
  • Increase the Diamond Crystal kosher salt for the shrimp to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
  • Add 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt to the curry sauce when adding the coconut milk in step 6.
  • Increase the total neutral cooking oil in the ingredient list to 3 or 4 tablespoons, and instruct the cook to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan before sautéing the onions in step 5.
  • Remove the 145°F temperature target for the shrimp, relying on visual cues or reducing it to 135-140°F.
  • Remove the empty string at the end of the instructions array.

Issues

  • high / flavor: The rice is significantly underseasoned. Based on a 1% salinity target by weight for grains, the 3/4 cup of dry rice and 1 1/4 cups of water (about 440g total) require 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, rather than 1/2 teaspoon.
  • high / flavor: The shrimp and curry sauce are underseasoned. Based on a 1.25% salinity target for meat, the 12 ounces of shrimp require 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (currently 3/4 teaspoon). Furthermore, the roughly 750g of sauce components (onion, tomato, coconut milk, water) require about 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt for 1% salinity, but only receive 2 teaspoons of fish sauce (roughly equivalent to 3/4 teaspoon of salt). The sauce needs an additional 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 teaspoons of salt.
  • medium / cookability: Eggplant absorbs oil quickly, meaning the skillet will likely be completely dry when the onions are added in step 5, leading to sticking or burning. Additional neutral oil is needed for sautéing the aromatics.
  • medium / cookability: Shrimp are too small and thin to accurately check with a thermometer, and 145°F will overcook them. Rely purely on visual cues like opacity and curling, or lower the temperature target to 135-140°F.
  • low / clarity: The instructions array ends with an empty string, which will render as a blank, unnumbered step for the user.

Strengths

  • Efficiently utilizes the rice's passive cooking and resting time to prepare the curry in parallel.
  • Comprehensive and well-formatted prep list ensures all ingredients are ready before active cooking begins.
  • Clear, concise steps that logically group immediate actions on the same ingredients.