RECIPE: Pickled Shrimp with Coconut Milk

This recipe comes to us from the pages of Chef Ron Hsu’s new book, Down South + East: A Chinese American Cookbook. The book showcases Chef Hsu’s extensive experience — from growing up in his family’s Chinese restaurants in Georgia to the famed NYC restaurant Le Bernardin and, finally, his own Michelin-starred restaurant in Atlanta, Lazy Betty.

In the book, Chef Hsu describes his Pickled Gulf Shrimp with Coconut Milk:

“A light, aromatic shrimp ceviche is the perfect summer snack,” he writes. “It wasn’t until I returned to the South that I fully realized the similarities between the ceviche we made at Le Bernardin in New York and the pickled shrimp I knew in Georgia. Both use acid to ‘cook’ the shrimp or fish, preserving it and making it safe to eat without applying heat. Here, I utilize the Southeast Asian flavors of ginger, chile, and coconut milk with sweet Gulf shrimp, best served cold as an appetizer alongside good, crusty bread.”

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Pickled Gulf Shrimp with Coconut Milk

This easy-but-impressive appetizer leans on the Southeast Asian flavors of ginger, chile, and coconut milk.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Refrigerating Overnight 8 hours hrs

Total Time 9 hours hrs

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Asian

Servings 2

Equipment

• 1 quart-size mason jar

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 oz medium shrimp, shelled and deveined (about 18-20 shrimp)
• 3/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 lime, sliced into thin rounds
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 sprigs cilantro
• 2 sprigs Thai basil
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and crushed with the side of a chef's knife
• 1 red Fresno chile (optional)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Instructions

 

• In a quart-size (960 ml) mason jar (or other container with a tight-fitting lid), combine the shrimp and vinegar and shake well.
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes, then add the onion, lime, oil, cilantro, basil, ginger, chile (if using), sugar, and salt, shake well, and refrigerate in the sealed jar overnight.
• The next day, add the coconut milk, shake well, and let the flavors marry for about 30 minutes or up to 1 week before serving.

Notes

Reprinted with permission from Down South + East. Text copyright © 2026 by Ron Hsu. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Rinnie Allen. Published by Abrams.

Keyword Coconut Milk, Pickled, Shrimp

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