Thai Peanut Shrimp Stuffed California Avocados

When I have a batch of California Avocados in my kitchen, it’s hard not to plow through them with nothing but a spoon and a salt shaker. I know I’m not alone in this! The flavor and creamy texture are irresistible. So, when I incorporate California Avocados into a recipe, I take care not to cover up those distinctive characteristics that have made me a lifelong fan.

I think it’s safe to say that a stuffed avocado recipe is the closest you can get to eating avocados straight-up with a spoon. Plus, they’re incredibly versatile. Think of any dish that you’d garnish with avocados and turn it into a stuffed version. Love tacos? Why not make a ground turkey and black bean mixture to spoon into halved avocados? Can’t get enough of curry? Scoop in a spiced, bubbling chicken or vegetarian curry.

How to make these Thai Peanut Shrimp Stuffed Avocados:
First, make the peanut dressing. There are quite a few peanut dressings that call for sautéing or blending, but I took the easy route with this quick dressing. Shake the can of coconut milk very well to fully mix the coconut cream into the coconut water. Whisk the coconut milk with the peanut butter. Smooth peanut butter works best, but crunchy can be used in a pinch. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk to combine.

The next step is blanching the shrimp in boiling, salted water. The key to cooking shrimp is to not overcook it. Overcooked means rubbery, and no one wants that! Prepare a bowl of ice water before cooking the shrimp so that the shrimp can be drained and plunged into the ice water as soon as they’re done. This will stop the shrimp from cooking further.

Roughly chop the shrimp and combine in a bowl with diced red bell pepper, jicama and cooked edamame. Toss with the dressing.

You will not need all of the dressing, but it’s so good that you will want extra on hand to toss with pasta or drizzle over salads (thin with a little water first).
Scoop the shrimp mixture into the avocado halves, sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Thai Peanut Shrimp Stuffed Avocados Recipe

Serves 8

Serving size: 1 stuffed avocado half

Prep time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Total time:     35 minutes

Thai Peanut Shrimp Stuffed Avocados Ingredients:

3/4 lb. raw large shrimp, peeled & deveined
½ cup cooked edamame
½ cup diced jicama
½ cup diced red bell pepper
4 California Avocados, peeled, seeded and halved
3 tbsp. minced cilantro
7 tbsp. Dressing

Thai Peanut Shrimp Stuffed Avocados Instructions :

1. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 to 1 /2 minutes. Drain and plunge the shrimp into the ice water to stop them from cooking further.
3. Roughly chop the shrimp and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the edamame, jicama and red bell pepper.
4. Add 5 tablespoons (or more to taste) of the dressing to the shrimp mixture. Stir to combine. Reserve the remaining dressing for another use.
5. Scoop about ¼ cup of the shrimp mixture into each avocado half. Garnish with cilantro. Serve.

Thai Dressing Ingredients:
 ½ cup coconut milk, can well shaken
1/3 cup peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. Thai red curry paste
2 tsp. finely grated ginger
1 tsp. agave nectar

Thai Dressing Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and peanut butter until smooth.
2. Add the lime juice, soy sauce, curry paste, ginger and agave nectar, and whisk again to combine.