Result with the default animation shape curve.
Result by modifying the animation curve to get a more intense explosion.
Turning off the scene lights helps the bake to be done much faster. Then the shadow details will be lost in the simulation (in viewport mode) but it will work perfectly in Render mode.
The idea is to work with low resolution and lights on, until you get the desired result. When you are going to do the final bake, turn off the lights to reduce the bake time.
Inside the Shader, you will find the Global Material Settings tab. By default, the Steps Settings values are as follows.
If you edit them by increasing the Step values and reducing the Max Steps, you will get a significant increase in render speed and performance in the Viewport. You must be careful with these values, because they can modify the shader result.