Spicy chili-garlic shrimp is one of my favorite things to eat. I love to spice it up with arbol chile peppers. I leave the chile pods whole and let them cook in olive oil a bit. It imparts a nice heat and flavor profile into the oil which adds heat and flavor to the whole dish.
What is chili garlic sauce?
Chili garlic sauce is a sauce that’s used to make popular dishes such as chili garlic shrimp. It has many uses and is very versatile in just about any dish. You can use it with chicken, beef, and vegetables. It’s great in vegetarian recipes when you need added flavor.
Stir-fried vegetables in chili garlic sauce served over rice is very good. It’s a simple sauce to make consisting of chile, garlic, and a sweet and acidic element. Chili garlic sauce can be made Thai style and used in Asian cooking or you can make a sweet chili garlic sauce.
What goes in chili garlic shrimp?
Very few ingredients go into a chili garlic shrimp recipe. I use oil, garlic, onions, shrimp, and chili paste. My favorite onions to use are green onions, but sweet yellow Vidalia onions also make a nice chili sauce.
I finish it with a little salt and pepper to taste.
What’s the best kind of shrimp to use?
For me, medium-large shrimp works well. I usually buy lots of shrimp when I catch it on sale and throw them in my deep freezer. The raw easy peel shrimp are more flavorful than the already cooked shrimp. I’ve never fixed the recipe with large prawns, but I’m sure it’s good.
When I do eat XXL Tiger or Colossal prawns that are 4-6 in an lb., I like them grilled with spices and basted with butter. The 16-20 count shrimp works great.
How to make hot and spicy chili garlic shrimp
I start by adding a little oil to my pan. You can use any oil, but I prefer extra virgin olive oil. I put the chili peppers in and let them cook a bit to release some of the chile oil into the olive oil. This gives it a nice bite of heat. After the chiles have sauteed a minute or two I like to add the garlic and butter.
Don’t heat the pan too high because you don’t want your garlic to burn. I use freshly minced garlic and the already minced version that you can find in the grocery store. I let it saute for a couple of minutes to get the garlic flavor into the oil. In goes the chili paste and the rest of the ingredients.
Hot and Spicy Chili Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 lb. shrimp
- 4 arbol chile peppers optional
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp ground chili paste
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat skillet or saute pan under medium heat
- Add the olive oil and peppers to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes
- Stir in the butter and garlic and cook for 1 minute
- Add the chili paste, green onion and shrimp and stir fry for 2 minutes
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and pour the water in and the chicken bouillon. Cook until the shrimp is light pink and the sauce has reduced some.
Notes
