Garlic shrimp pasta recipe
|
|
Sorry I have forgotten her name, but she hosts a popular television cooking show. I read a feature about her in the newspapers just as I was about to write this page about a garlic shrimp recipe.
Although she is Chinese and the Chinese are known to use garlic liberally in their cooking, in just about every dish, she strongly disapproves of this practice.
And the very example she cited was garlic shrimps / prawns, saying that when prawns are fresh, they taste so delicious on their own that it does not make sense to counter its flavour with a strong herb like garlic.
Well, she has a point there. But then, garlic shrimp is also quite delicious. Used in pasta dishes, especially with angel hair or other fine pasta, the dish has a certain expensive feel to it.
And as you will see in this garlic shrimp pasta recipe, it is quite easy to prepare. The key is to use good shrimps, although not necessarily the freshest. (See notes below.)
Garlic shrimp pasta recipe
- 12 to 18 large shrimps, shelled and de-veined
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 300 grams dried pasta, cooked according to instructions.
- Dried chilli flakes (as optional garnish)
Method:
- Season shrimps with salt and set aside.
- Heat oil in a heavy pan. Add garlic and fry for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add shrimps and chopped parsley and cook until the shrimps are cooked through, about 3 minutes depending on their size.
- Serve over cooked pasta, 3 or 4 shrimps to a plate.
Notes and suggestions:
- This garlic shrimp pasta recipe works well with angel hair pasta or other fine, long pasta like spaghetinni. Otherwise, regular spaghetti, fettucine or linguine will do. Somehow, short pasta like penne does not look as elegant here.
- I have seen garlic shrimp recipe using chopped shrimps. To me, this is a waste if you have nice, big fresh shrimps. But if you are on a budget, smaller or chopped up medium shrimps will do fine.
- Besides shrimps, this recipe works well with fresh scallops.
| Buying shrimps for this garlic shrimp pasta recipe
These days, a lot of shrimps and fish - especially in Singapore where I live - are farmed. This is why they come fresh - some are sold live - and relatively cheap. Also, there is talk that some fish mongers add chemicals (I was told it is formaldehyde) to make their seafood look shiny and fresh, although the government authorities have denied this. Shrimps / prawns caught from the sea do taste better, even if they are (or look) less fresh. I learned this from a fish monger. His prawns did not look good, but they tasted good, like how I remember them to be. One, I experimented with frozen shrimps, thinking they could save me some trouble. They had not much taste, and had an artificially crunchy texture, which, I suspect, comes from the addition of sodium bicarbonate or some other chemicals. Perhaps other brands might be better. I will need to check the ingredients list more carefully should I decide again to try frozen shrimps. |
Click here for a cream-based garlic shrimp pasta recipe.
|
|
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Kindly leave a comment in the box below.