Spanish-Style Shrimp With Garlic
- Total Time
- About 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1¼pounds medium shrimp, shelled and de-veined (Look for domestic farmed shrimp or Oregon pink shrimp.)
- Sea salt or kosher salt to taste
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped or thinly sliced
- 1bay leaf, broken in half
- 1dried red chile, seeded and crumbled
- 2tablespoons minced parsley
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
126 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 241 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Sprinkle the shrimp with salt, toss and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy nonstick frying pan, and add the garlic, bay leaf and chile. Cook, stirring, until the garlic begins to color, about one minute. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the shrimp. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, two to three minutes. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.
Tip
- Advance preparation: Everything can be prepped and ready to go hours ahead, but the cooking here is last-minute.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Yvonne
Gambas as my Spanish family calls them - add to recipe 1/2 cup dry white wine while cooking shrimp - remove shrimp and reduce sauce. Pour over shrimp. Enjoy!
Aster Max
Oregon shrimp, as suggested by the author, are domestic- not foreign - shrimp and will cook up just as fine as Carolina shrimp and aren't discriminatinatory.
Pinkney
It's better if you can get wild shrimp from the Carolinas. Friends don't let friends eat foreign shrimp.
N
I added the juice of a full lemon during the last minute or so of cooking to complement the heat from the pepper and make the dish a little brighter.
Tammy
A trick I use when cooking with garlic and high heat is to microwave the EVOO and garlic for less than a minute (and the red pepper too but keep an eye on it, it cooks quickly). The garlic sinks to the bottom so it is easy to just use the oil on top for the saute and then add the garlic toward the end. Better flavor and no worries for burnt garlic!
Martha
Best shrimp cooking technique I know is from the cookbook 'Polpo' from the London restaurant of the same name. Follow this recipe but stir the the room temperature shrimp vigorously into the pan, then cook for only ONE - two minutes, add a knob of butter, cover the pan, and take off the heat to rest for 5-10 minutes. The shrimp are more tender this way
Troels
The garlic will not survive two to three more minutes more. Add garlic one minute before the end.
Joe Bruno
If you are East Coast then Carolina whites are as good as shrimp get so you should use them. Though I cannot speak for Oregon shrimp, the availability of fresh Carolina shrimp on the West coast being next to nil, I'd go with the Oregon creatures. So stop squabbling! The thing that you should be concerned about is that, foreign or domestic, fresh or frozen, most shrimp are treated with chemicals to keep them plump and heavy on the ol' butcher's scale. Now that's a crime!
Tino
Very Spanish, but yes, with the shells and heads, while messier, much tastier. The fresher the better, so each coast should know where to get the best. Lemon at the end adds a brightness, though my family, from Galicia, Spain, does a splash of Spanish brandy that gives a little depth.
Juliet Jones
to Jacqueline: I've eaten this dish in Spain (gambas al ajillo) and here I would just use a little sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Lisa
And those of us in Texas will prefer Gulf shrimp. Not sure I've ever seen either Carolina or Oregon shrimp for sale around here, but I do make sure to avoid the foreign stuff.
Cathy
Maybe you could substitute crushed red pepper flakes. That way you could control the heat factor.
Mardee
Sometimes it's better to follow the actual recipe. I'm not being snarky - I would try the recipe as written and see if your opinion changes.
Kayla M.
Best piping hot. Approved by the son of a professional Spanish chef! Maldon flaky sea salt worked well on the shrimp here. I overdid it on the parsley and did not regret that choice.
42west
I'm going to also add lemon zest tonight when I make it.
Kirk
Friends don’t let friends cook, serve or eat farmed shrimp. Support American shrimpers!
PJ
Has anyone done this ahead and served chilled or room temp as an appetizer?
Mark
Absolute classic tapa. Try cooking it in a cazuela if you have one and mind that the flame should not be very high. It's almost like the garlic is poaching in oil, not frying. I sometimes add a little pinch of pimenton.
Angela
As a Spaniard, I recommend adding 1 teaspoon of dulce (sweet) Spanish paprika. It creates an authentic Valencian flavour.
Add Wine (always)
When you flip the shrimp, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a dry white wine (Albariño would be great) and cook down. Remove the shrimp when done, and add about 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter and a little pasta water to make a great pan sauce to top.
Rebecca
Big yum! Used 1 t. of Aleppo chile flakes because I didn't have dried chiles. Also, added a splash of wine as per other comments. Definitely going into rotation.
Heidi
Weve made these twice— once following the directions and once marinating skewered shrimp with this recipe and grilling the shrimp. The grilled marinated shrimp were far superior. 5 star.
magnamosa
used the frozen pink shrimp from trader joe's. i chopped the garlic to small so it burned a bit. should have paid more attention to helpful notes. overall flavor good but i think some lemon at the end would have brightened it. Not quite as delish as what I've had in Spain but overall a make again for sure.
Julie
Added white wine per the note. Excellent! Served with broc and rice.
Lucy
What kind of “dry red chile”?
lissa
Similar recipe uses: 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 10 large cloves garlic, finely minced 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 pound shrimp (about 25), deveined, shells left on 2 tablespoons lemon juice, from about 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup Spanish brandy, or dry sherry, optional 1 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika, optional Kosher salt, to taste Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves,
natasha
Delicious. Easy and fast. I normally don’t change much but I did squeeze a half of a lemon and add 1/3 cup of the pasta water. Perfect over linguini or would be fine on it’s own next to a salad or veg.
Alexia
I’m from Spain, and we use way more olive oil for that amount if shrimps :)
HWM
Pinkness is a great way to tell if shrimp are done UNLESS you're using shrimp that are pink when raw, like the Oregon pink shrimp in the recipe or Argentine shrimp, which are the only decent shrimp I can find in stores right now.
Bree
Yummy. Debated which of the 3 types of dried chili I found in the back of my pantry to use. Ruled out the ones from the Sichuan market went for Guajillo over ancho, mainly because the guajillos were an impulse buy I never got around to using. Argentinian red shrimp because it's what I had. A little Spanish white wine and juice of half a lemon after removing the shrimp and cooked down a bit so there would be enough sauce for dipping. Served with thinly sliced crusty bread & a green salad.
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