Who doesn’t love an easy shrimp with garlic dinner? This classic Portuguese recipe is all about flavor and speed, giving you a dynamite dish on the table in under 30 minutes, perfect for hosting a last minute happy hour with friends or when you’re rushing in the door after work.
Living in Portugal has taught me so much about cooking with simple ingredients and creating an easy dish with knock-out flavors.
This popular Portuguese recipe, known as Gambas al Ajillo, takes just a pound of shrimp and a handful of pantry staples to create an addictive, memorable spread.
This is the dish I’ve ordered more than any other in restaurants all across the country. One more staple of Portuguese cuisine that never disappoints.
What you need to make Easy Portuguese Shrimp with Garlic:
¼ cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 red chili, sliced thin (or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ cup white wine
1 pound medium shrimp (cleaned, with or without tails)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon pepper
Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
¼ cup cilantro leaves, packed
Quick note about buying shrimp…
Living near the ocean gives me easy access to fresh shrimp every day of the week. A wonderful luxury, but completely unnecessary for this recipe.
If you live inland, don’t despair! Frozen shrimp are usually caught, cleaned and frozen quickly, ensuring a very fresh product.
They are also much more economical. And once tossed in this easy chili garlic sauce, you’ll be too busy slurping up the shrimp to worry about the freezer
While colossal, 2-4 count shrimp are always impressive, I prefer medium shrimp in this recipe. I find them to be the most consistently sweet in flavor and they easily take on the Portuguese garlic sauce.
Loving this recipe? Try this Simple Asian Fish with Ginger and Soy recipe next!
Step-by-step instructions:
Begin by heating 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat (if your stove runs hot, medium-low heat is best).
Gently sauté 8 thinly sliced garlic cloves until tender, but not browned, about 4 minutes.
Add sliced red chili peppers (or flakes, if using), one teaspoon of smoked paprika, one teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook another minute to allow the spices to toast.
Increase to medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup white wine. Cook for 2 minutes or until wine reduces by half.
Add raw shrimp to pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. (Be aware that this is not very much cook time. Once the shrimp are turned in the pan, you’re on the fast track to dinner!)
Total time cooking is about 10 minutes from sautéing the garlic to plating the shrimp.
Remove from heat. Add cilantro and add lemon juice to the pan. Toss to coat. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning, if needed. Serve with a loaf of French bread.
FAQ about cooking with shrimp:
Yes! Fun fact… while living on the ocean gives me access to fresh shrimp-literally, right off the boat-frozen shrimp is also fresh and local and super economical. So we often have shrimp in our freezer just waiting for inspiration to strike. I thaw shrimp in the refrigerator overnight or in a bowl of cold water.
I have made this recipe with already cooked shrimp by fully composing the sauce in the skillet (follow steps 1, 2 and 4 of the recipe above) and then adding the shrimp at the end to toss in the sauce and heat through.
You sure can, just use an airtight container. To thaw, move to refrigerator for a few hours. Please remember that it’s never safe to thaw shellfish on the counter at room temperature
3 days is my limit! If I’ve hit 48 hours with no plans to finish it up, it’s going in the freezer.
Fresh parsley (flat leaf) would be delicious and consistent with this Portuguese recipe’s flavor profile. I think basil would also work, but it will take your palette in a different direction.
I have found that slicing garlic and cooking it gently produces a mellow garlic presence that allows the other ingredients to sing when the flavors combine in the dish. Chopped garlic releases more sulfur from the cloves and gives off a more aggressive flavor, which is counterintuitive since the pieces are so small. Science…who can make this up? That said, you follow the garlic recipe method that works best for your tastes. If dicing or mincing, reduce garlic to 4-5 cloves.
My preference is a loaf of crusty bread and maybe a stick of butter (for when the garlic sauce runs out), and of course, piri piri sauce (Portugal’s version of Frank’s hot sauce). It’s also common to see this Portuguese shrimp dish served at family gatherings from a large skillet with plain white rice and French fries on the side.
One of the things that makes this such a great recipe, is that the only thing creating heat in the dish is the red chili pepper. So if you want spicy Portuguese shrimp, add two chilis, or a chili and some extra hot pepper sauce. But if you prefer a tasty but mild Portuguese recipe, skip the chili pepper and add a pinch of red pepper flakes, or nothing at all. The garlic, wine and smoked paprika create so much flavor that it will be the main dish, side dish, appetizer or midnight snack of your dreams.
More recipe for you to try!
- Easy Ginger Scallion Sauce
- Lemon Butter Sauce Over Baked Tilapia
- Simple Asian Fish with Ginger and Soy
Shrimp with Garlic Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 1x
Description
This classic Portuguese recipe is all about flavor and speed, giving you a dynamite dish on the table in under 30 minutes, perfect for hosting a last minute happy hour with friends or when you’re rushing in the door after work.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
- 1 red chili, sliced thin (or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 pound medium shrimp (cleaned, with or without tails)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, packed
Instructions
- Sauce: Gently sauté garlic in oil over medium heat until tender – about 4 minutes. Add red chili pepper or pepper flakes, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cook another minute to allow the spices to toast. Increase the heat to medium-high and add white wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the wine reduces to about half of the amount.
- Shrimp: Add shrimp to pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Add cilantro and squeeze half of a lemon over the shrimp.
- Serve: Toss to coat the shrimp evenly with the sauce and cilantro. Serve with a crusty baguette.
Notes
For the red chili, fresno or anaheim are ideal. Birdseye chilis from your local Asian market will also work – though start with one small pepper, as they are spicier than their larger cousins.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Portuguese
Keywords: easy shrimp, easy shrimp dinner, Portuguese shrimp, shrimp with garlic
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