Creamy Shrimp Scampi & Whole Prawn in Garlic Butter

A wise, attractive man (Scott) once told me that crustaceans are like the earth's rotations, they just keep going round and round. Although this does not make any sense, the real take-away here is crustaceans are delicious and that is exactly what this blog post is about. So grab a loved one (butter), grab a thick bottomed pan and let's all hop on our good foot and get ready to do a bad (good) thing with these little ocean treasures. 

(Editor's note: In case you couldn't tell, this introduction was actually written by Scotty. Surprising, right? Now, on to MY blog...)

Shrimpin' ain't easy! (Ok, this recipe is really super easy, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to drop that pun.) We cooked up two kinds of crustaceans: shrimps and prawns! What's the difference between them, you ask? Prawns are slightly larger than shrimp and have branching gills...but besides that, they're basically the same. In fact, I think in Australia the terms are almost used interchangeably. It's a CRUSTACEAN NATION! (Forgive me, Scott got me on this roll...) So for this post, I have two different preparations for both of these sea creatures: shrimp scampi with grape tomatoes and large spotted prawn, their bodies served raw and heads sautéed in butter and garlic. Yum!

For the Shrimp Scampi

I started by warming a wide, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once it was hot, I added one chopped onion, one chopped carrot, one chopped celery stalk, four cloves chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.

To that, I added six chopped garlic cloves and an entire carton of halved grape tomatoes.

I let this sauté for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Whenever I'm cooking almost any sauce, I start it with the mirepoix of celery, carrot, and onion (and garlic, but that's not standard. I'm just obsessed). This ensures that whatever you're cooking has a nice full background flavor.

For the next step, I added a palmful of dried basil (I dried mine from a fresh batch, but you can use whatever you have) and a few cups of almond milk. If you're not sensitive to lactose, you can use cream or milk instead. I seasoned the sauce liberally again with salt and pepper and let it come up to a boil. Once it was boiling I reduced the heat and allowed the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes.

Five minutes before I was ready to serve, I added my shrimp to the sauce. I just estimated about how much shrimp I thought we would need. The shrimp is done when it's opaque throughout--this only takes about three minutes. Make sure not to overcook it!

How good would this sauce be with pasta? Uh huh...

A couple years ago, my cousin Hayleigh and my aunt Shelly told me about a shrimp scampi they'd eaten at The Cheesecake Factory. They were raving so much about how wonderful it was that I looked up a similar recipe on Pinterest that night and made my own version. They weren't kidding--it was freaking delicious, but it contained more dairy than my stomach could handle, not to mention more than my entire day's worth of calories (not that I really count those things, but you know what I'm saying). This latest version that I just whipped up using only almond milk was, in my opinion, equally delicious and seriously satisfied my intense craving for that comforting, creamy dish.

I challenge you not to cook this and fall in love!

For the Spotted Whole Prawn

Now, before I write any further, I need to tell you all to NOT FREAK OUT. So many people get weirded out by seeing whole prawns or crawfish, but I'm swearing to you on my love of unicorns that they are DELICIOUS. If you never try them, you're seriously missing out on a beautiful ingredient that is fresh, rich and also very healthy for you!

Our Vietnamese friend came over to hang out while I was cooking up my shrimp scampi. He brought a delightful package with him of fresh, whole, head-on spotted prawns from his favorite Asian market. These things were awesome! I hadn't had the opportunity to work with prawns this large before and was very excited to dig in.

Prawn partyyy! Prawn partyyy! ohhhh yeahhhhhh!

First, I cut the heads away from the bodies. I rinsed the bodies in a colander in the sink and our friend peeled and deveined them. They were so fresh that they were ready to be eaten raw immediately. We enjoyed them with pickled ginger and hot wasabi. The meat of these crustaceans is HEAVEN. It's rich, moist, and almost fatty without being overwhelming. If you even remotely enjoy sushi, you'll be head over heels for these little guys. Just be sure wherever you buy them, they are top quality and extra fresh.

Now, for my favorite part of the entire crustaceous evening: the prawn heads. You guys, if worshipping prawns wasn't totally weird, I'd probably do it. That's how intensely good these things are. It's kind of a mental leap to get over the initial "eww" factor, but it's definitely worth it. I promise.

The preparation was simple. I got my cast iron pan hot over medium heat and added about three tablespoons of butter. Once it melted, I added in roughly eight chopped garlic cloves. To that I added the prawn heads and let them soak up the garlicky buttery goodness. They don't need much time--maybe ten minutes max.

That's it! I served them up by arranging them in a shallow serving bowl and pouring the garlic butter on top. To eat, you bite the open part of the head where the body was once attached. Use your teeth and tongue to push out as much of the meat as possible...and if you're like me, I go for the big guns--suck that thing clean, no shame. It's honestly like eating the most flavorful butter in the whole world. 

If you try this recipe, remember these three important things:

1. Buy the freshest ingredients possible. This doesn't mean you have to pay very much; it usually means you should visit your local Asian market. They'll have what you need for a bargain.

2. Don't judge until you try it.

3. You're my new hero.

Thank you for reading! 

Until next time,

xoxo