Sweet buttery Hawaiian garlic shrimp, a quick fix meal that will take you back to the island.
In anticipation of our trip to Hawaii this summer (come on end of June!!), I bring you these Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp. One bite of these brings back so many memories.
We were lucky enough to have lived in Hawaii, Oahu, for 2 years (2009 and 2010). It was just as much as a vacation as it sounds. We lived in Kailua, about a mile from the beach. Our weekends were spent deciding which beautiful beach or hike we’d explore. Pure heaven.
One of the grocery stores, within walking distance to our condo, had daily plate specials. This was very common on the island. The special of the day might be steak, chicken or shrimp, typically with rice or macaroni salad. Their garlic shrimp was one of my favorites.
And if you have been to Oahu, you know how popular those shrimp trucks are on the North Shore. Although I don’t cook with shrimp on a regular basis, I always have a bag in the freezer. When I do make them, I am reminded of how wonderful they are- not just taste but convenience.
Frozen shrimp defrosts in 5 minute under running water and cooks in about the same. Make sure to buy them peeled and deveined for extra time savers! Of course fresh is wonderful if you get it!
If you don’t love garlic this might not be your dish, but since you are cooking the garlic on low for a good 10 minutes it becomes sweet and mellow out compared to it’s fresh flavor. So so good.
I have seen some garlic shrimp dishes that use about 3-4 times the amount of butter I used, but there is no need in my opinion. This has so much favor the way it is! The shrimp alone are low in calorie, fat and high in protein so the fat from the oil and butter is doable, plus you can pair it with high fiber brown rice and some veggies for a complete meal.
And let me say for the record I don’t know exactly how they make their garlic shrimp, but I recreated this to taste just like the ones from the plate lunch specials I would get.
[Tweet “This Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp> Ready in Under 20 and So Good! #glutenfree via @nutritiouseats”]
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
- 1½ tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
- 6-7 cloves of garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter, olive oil and vegetable broth on medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté gently for ~3-4 minutes. You want the heat low enough so that it won't burn the garlic. Add the shrimp in a single layer turn the heat up slightly to medium and cook for 3 minutes, flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes or until slightly pink and cooked through. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice and additional ½ tablespoon of butter. Devour as is or serve along side brown rice.
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
Oh how I love this post because shrimp and the Hawaiian islands are definitely 2 of my loves 🙂 Definitely making this as I just bought a pineapple and I always have frozen shrimp on hand. Can’t wait to hear more about your trip – I’m itching to get back to the Big Island….
Lauren Grant says
Sounds delicious!
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Emily @ Zen & Spice says
I loooove shrimp. I wish my fiance would eat it, haha. Looks great!
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