Grilled Shrimp with Tamarind Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon asian fish sauce to taste (preferably Thai naam pla)
• 1 tablespoon cilantro roots and/or stems fresh cleaned chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 sprigs jalapeño chiles fresh finely julienned halved lengthwise seeded
• 1.5 tablespoons coconut sugar to taste
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; peanut oil preferred 
• 3 teaspoons sea salt dissolved in 11/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon sriracha hot
• 1 tablespoon tamarind from a pliable block 
• 0.3 cup water 

Equipment

• bowl
• sauce pan
• sieve
• grill
• kitchen scissors
• colander
• grill pan

Directions

1. Prepare grill for cooking.
2. Soak shrimp (still in shells) in salt water 5 minutes, then rinse well in a colander.
3. Place tamarind in a bowl with water and rub with your fingers to dissolve pulp.
4. Pour through a sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids, and discard solids.
5. Heat oil in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook cilantro paste and garlic, stirring, until fragrant. Stir in hot sauce, 3 tablespoons tamarind juice, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Simmer until thickened to consistency of light syrup, about 3 minutes.
6. Snip shells of shrimp with scissors down center of back, from wide end to second-to-last tail section. Butterfly shrimp in their shells, making a deep incision along length of back where shells are cut, and devein.
7. Grill shrimp on their sides on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until shells are pink and slightly charred and shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. (Alternatively, grill shrimp in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderate heat.)
8. Spoon tamarind sauce over shrimp (still in shells) in a serving dish.
9. Tamarind sauce can be made 2 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.