Name: Garlic Butter Shrimp Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs shrimp (cleaned); 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped); 1/4 cup butter; 1 head garlic (crushed); 1 cup lemon lime soda; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; salt and pepper to taste

By: Vanjo Merano 22 Comments Published: 2/13/20

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Garlic Butter Shrimp is a super easy dish to make. This recipe shows how to cook this beloved dish the Filipino way. I like how it turned out. The dish is rich and flavorful. I enjoyed eating it with newly cooked white rice.

The use of shrimp with scales and head make this unique from other versions. People who are used to buy frozen shrimp from the supermarket might find this uncommon. Cooking shrimp in this form is actually a common practice in some Asian countries, including the Philippines. Dishes such as Sinignag na Hipon, Halabas na Hipon, and Nilasing na Hipon uses cleaned fresh shrimp with head and shell. I personally like shrimp in this form because it is tastier. You’ll find most of the flavors concentrated below the head.

Garlic butter shrimp with lemom lime soda

Let me talk a little about the composition of this dish. It is simply made of Shrimp, garlic, butter, and lemon soda. Don’t take the lemon soda for granted because it is a major ingredient. It refers to soda pop such as Sprite, 7Up, Sierra Mist, and the likes. The sweet taste of this dish is attributed to this ingredient. It also blends well with butter and garlic.

How to Cook Garlic Butter Shrimp Filipino Style

Start by cleaning the shrimp. Wash it thoroughly and cut the antennae as much as possible. Devein each piece and wash again until clean.

Marinate it in lemon soda. I do this by arranging the shrimp in a bowl and pour lemon soda. Let it sit for around 10 minutes before cooking.

Garlic Butter Sauce

This is mainly composed of butter and garlic as the name suggests. It is more of a preparation rather than a sauce at first. Let me explain this. Sauces are usually cooked separately. It can be added anytime to a dish, but as a complete entity. The sauce for our garlic butter shrimp is assembled as the dish cooks.

The sauce is responsible in the success of the dish. The shrimp also plays an important role in providing the flavor to the sauce as it cooks.

Let’s get back to the process. The partial garlic butter sauce is the first thing to make when cooking the dish. Melt butter and add garlic. Cook in low heat until the garlic starts to brown a little. Immediately throw-in shrimp on a skillet and cook over medium high heat while stirring occasionally. Season the dish with salt and pepper and squeeze-in some lemon juice. Top with chopped fresh parsley. Super easy, isn’t it?

What goes with garlic butter shrimp?

Rice goes well with this Filipino recipe. Garlic butter shrimp with sauce is topped over warm white rice. It can be eaten without any additional condiments because it is tasty by itself. I also like having this with toasted slices of French bread.

How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta

There is a variation that can be enjoyed with pasta. The same recipe applies, but use frozen shrimp with no head and shell, or simply remove the head and shell from fresh shrimp.

The first thing to do is cook your pasta according to package instructions. I suggest using spaghetti or linguine. Set the cooked pasta aside and then prepare the shrimp. Follow the same recipe. Add ½ cup of white wine towards the end. Finish by adding some red pepper flakes. Top the shrimp over pasta. You can also toss both on a pan in a stovetop before serving.

Alternative ingredients

Use Lemon, lime, or calamansi and add a bit of sugar as a replacement for lemon soda. Don’t go crazy on the lemon because the dish can get sour. The idea is to make the dish tastes fresh with a hint of sweetness.

Margarine can be used, but it is not advisable. Butter is still best.Garlic powder works as a replacement for garlic.

Try this Garlic Butter Shrimp recipe and let me know what you think.

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we can see your creations!

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