One-Pan Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp
Shrimp cooked in garlic butter with a sauce built on sambal oelek, oyster sauce, and a spoonful of ketchup for sweetness. One pan, about 20 minutes, and enough sauce that the rice underneath matters as much as the shrimp.
Servings: 5
Calories: 475kcal
Equipment
- 1 Pan or Wok
Ingredients
- 900 grams Large Shrimps head on
- ½ cup butter
- 1 head garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoon sambal oelek chili paste
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 5 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prep the shrimp. Run kitchen shears down the back of each shell, cut through to the flesh, and pull the vein out. Leave the shell on. Rinse, then pat them dry. Wet shrimp drop the pan temperature and steam instead of searing.900 grams Large Shrimps head on
- Mix the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk the oyster sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, black pepper, and sambal oelek until the sugar dissolves. Do this before you turn on the stove. Once the garlic hits the butter you won't have a free minute.2 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 5 tablespoon ketchup, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoon sambal oelek chili paste
- Cook the garlic. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the minced garlic, and cook 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant and just barely golden. Watch it. Garlic goes from golden to bitter fast, and burnt garlic ruins the whole pan with no way back.½ cup butter, 1 head garlic, crushed
- Sear the shrimp. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook 2 minutes, flip, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until they turn pink and curl. Don't crowd the pan. If they're stacked, work in two batches.
- Add the sauce. Pour it over the shrimp and stir to coat. Taste and add more sambal if you want it hotter.
- Reduce. Cook another 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat rather than pool in the pan. It should cling to the shells.
- Serve immediately over rice, with the lemon and salt dipping sauce on the side.
Notes
What shrimp to buy. Shell-on, head-on if you can find them at an Asian market. Shell-on headless is the practical default, around 16 to 20 count. Don't buy them peeled. The shells keep the shrimp from drying out and hold onto sauce.
Deveining. Run kitchen shears down the back of the shell, cut through to the flesh, and pull the vein. Leave the shell on. The cut also lets the sauce into the meat.
Frozen works. Thaw fully, overnight in the fridge or under cool running water, then pat dry. Wet shrimp steam instead of searing.
Mix the sauce before you turn on the stove. This cooks in under ten minutes and there's no time to measure mid-cook.
Watch the garlic, not the clock. One to two minutes is a guide. The moment it smells like garlic and looks barely golden, the shrimp go in. Brown garlic is bitter and it ruins the sauce.
Don't crowd the pan. Shrimp in a single layer sear. Stacked shrimp steam and release water that thins the sauce. Two batches beats a watery pan.
Sambal oelek substitutes. Sriracha works but it's sweeter and thinner, so use less. Chili flakes give heat without the tang. For a mild version, cut the sambal in half or leave it out.
Oyster sauce. No clean substitute. Hoisin gets you a sweeter version of the same idea.
The dipping sauce. Squeeze half a lemon into a small dish with salt and pepper. Dip the shrimp as you eat.
Leftovers. 2 days in the fridge. Reheat in a skillet on low with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. Skip the microwave. Don't freeze it.
Nutrition
Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 67.4g | Protein: 39.8g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5.3g | Cholesterol: 279mg | Sodium: 4505mg | Potassium: 656mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 43.4g | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 4mg
