Recipe Redux: Chile Garlic Shrimp

Ah, the shrimp. That tasty little crustacean that usually lives at the bottom of the ocean. 

Shrimp has always been, and will probably always be one of my favorite foods. It was tradition in our family home growing up to have a shrimp ring on special occasions. I can still remember sneaking into the kitchen, gazing into the fridge, grabbing a few of those suckers, and devouring them on the spot. Of course, growing up in Oregon and 60 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, there was way more access to fresh shrimp than here in landlocked Kentucky. I depend on frozen shrimp here, which isn't technically my favorite but I take what I can get. Not to mention that shrimp is expensive, so it's a once-in-a-while treat too.

I take it when I can get it, and I love it.

I posted quite a few shrimp recipes when I first started the blog, including this one. Here's the best shot from way back when-

Chile Garlic Shrimp

Not too bad for an i-Phone photo! :-)

I posted lots of shrimp recipe back then mainly because we ate a lot of it back then. We were still adjusting our diets from moving from the Pacific Northwest. When the hubby and I lived in Oregon, we ate tons of seafood. It was not usual to have a shrimp recipe, a fish recipe, and maybe a scallop recipe all in one week. I lived within walking distance from Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, so there was always a great deal on reasonably priced fresh seafood. 

It was hard to adjust to changing our diet upon moving to Kentucky. We made monthly trips to Costco in Cincinnati for salmon and shrimp in the beginning.  Eventually you come to a place in life where driving 2 1/2 hours all the time to get seafood is challenging and frankly, time-consuming. So our diet changed. Shrimp and salmon are big treats. We split most of the week between meatless meals and chicken recipes. I find a couple of benefits in this-

1. Like I said, shrimp = luxury. I look forward to it more now.

2. The budget is waaaaaay happier :-) Nuff' said.

I have 2 shrimp dishes that are my go-to: this one and Shrimp & Artichokes.  Both recipes are fast, easy, filling, and can be made with mostly pantry ingredients. Or at least, my version of pantry ingredients since I include garlic, lemons, and parsley as pantry ingredients. I dunno, I guess I use those ingredients a ton, so I make sure to always keep them on hand.

For this dish, you are going to need shrimp. I used large, peeled, uncooked shrimp.

Season with salt and pepper.

The lemon in this dish cooks right in the pan. Thinly slice it before you throw it in. 

The heat in this dish is customizable. In fact, the first time I made it, I made it exactly according to recipe. Well, it called for 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper. If you cook, you know that's an insane amount of spice! The hubby and I could barely eat it the first time I made this recipe. Our mouths were on FIRE! Lucky for you, I've paired the chile waaaaaay down to a comfortable level with my adaptation. 

*Note* I noticed that Cooking Light, which is where I adapted the recipe from, has finally fixed their typo on the crushed red pepper and no longer calls for 1 tbsp. Which is crazy, because they left it incorrect for years. At least no one else will make that mistake now right? :-)

You could serve this over pasta, but I greatly prefer rice. 

For this shoot, I served Garlicky Sautéed Brussels Sprouts on the side. In the past, I've served all of the following on the side:

Garden salads

Caesar salads

Roasted Asparagus

Sautéed Broccoli

Sautéed Bok Choy

Roasted Cauliflower

I think asparagus is my favorite side to serve with this recipe. And to finish up, this meal is very fast. There's hardly any prep, and what takes the longest is steaming the rice. I think this dish will quickly become one of your favorite dishes as it has mine. 

It's been a busy couple of days. It all started last Thursday. I was out filling up the bird feeders when I felt something jump on me. Something large. I felt a twinge of panic until I turned around and saw the lovable neighborhood dog was making her rounds and wanted to say hi. Needless to say, she got hair and dirt all over my robe. So I came inside, washed my hands, and threw my robe in the wash. Never mind my phone was in the pocket.

Needless to say, Jessica needed a new phone. 

The hubby's work is doing a project in the months of March and April, so he is working Monday-Saturday, 10 hour days. Since our closest Apple store is Lexington, we had to wait until Sunday to replace my phone. Which we did. Jessica is back in business!

We also tried an Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar called Travinia that had opened at the Lexington mall. Hands down, food was the best part of the day! We got a bottle of Chianti and snacked on calamari before chowing down on flatbread and seafood stew. That's not something we do very often, so we had an awesome time. 

Funny story about this weekend- the hubby and I both forgot about Daylight Savings Time. We didn't even notice until we got home from Lexington on Sunday night and were thoroughly confused about the clocks. LOL.  Observant ones, aren't we?

That's all for today folks! Have a great day!

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Light

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb large shrimp, uncooked, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine (I use chardonnay)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
lemon wedges, hot cooked rice (for serving)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. While oil is heating, season shrimp with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. When oil is warm, add garlic and crushed red pepper. Sauté for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add shrimp to the pan and cook until just pink (1-2 minutes).
4. Add wine and lemon slices to pan. Bring to boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer until wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Remove lemon slices from pan and discard. Add parsley and butter to the pan. Stir until the butter has melted.
5. Serve shrimp and sauce over hot cooked rice. Garnish with lemon wedges, if using. Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Shrimp and Artichokes over Rice

Seafood Stew

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos