Chop and dice all the vegetables and herbs. Have all the ingredients for the recipe prepped and ready to go.

Place the raw shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and juice from ½ orange. This is a quick marinade while you prepare the refrito and the coconut sauce. Don’t let it marinate for more than 15 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium heat in large skillet or sauté pan. Add the diced garlic, diced onion, diced bell pepper, and achiote paste or powder (if not using achiote oil). Cook until the onions are soft, about 3-5 minutes.

Next add the diced tomatoes, all the chopped cilantro stems, half of the chopped cilantro leaves (save the rest to add at the end), and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add the coconut milk or coconut cream to the refrito, mix it well, and cook for about 5 minutes. If you are using coconut milk instead of coconut cream but prefer a thicker sauce you can thicken the sauce by adding 1 tsp of tapioca starch or corn starch.

Add the shrimp and mix well. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Cover and let the shrimp poach in the coconut sauce for about 5-10 minutes, stir occasionally.

Add the fresh grated coconut (optional but recommended) and lime juice once the shrimp is cooked. Taste and add additional salt/pepper if needed.

Stir in the remaining chopped cilantro leaves.

Serve immediately with rice, lime slices, avocado and fried plantains.