Garlic Shrimp at the Shrimp Shack
Perhaps you read on Facebook that my hubby and I recently got back from vacation. We took a trip to Hawaii - we've visited Hawaii previously, toured the island and done lots of tourist-ee fun stuff. Hawaii is so beautiful! This time was even more fun because we were visiting the kids - Melissa and Ben have lived on Oahu for three years and they know all the in's and out's! We went swimming, snorkeling, we ate food of every description and laughed until we cried - we had the BEST time possible, it was a wonderful trip!
Did I mention Melissa and Ben are foodie's too? YAY!!! Here's a picture of them - seriously the only picture I have of just the two of them is a snorkeling selfie, but I LOVE IT!
Melissa and Ben
Ben met us at the airport and whisked us away to our Hotel. We needed some sleep the first night as we were pretty tired when we got in, but the next day...we were ready for action! Our first stop took us to KoKo Head Crater - we were looking for the trail head in the back of the crater. There are stairs to climb the crater. They go all the way to the top, but it's a demanding ascent and we were hoping to make it a bit easier on ourselves. Unfortunately or fortunately??...We didn't find it. I say fortunately because the next day 12 people were life flighted from the crater - as I said, it's a demanding climb!
Instead, we took a much more leisurely stroll thru the Botanical Garden and then to Makapuu Point State Park - boasting an amazing view of the Hawaii coastline.
Hawaii Coastline
Of course by this time we had worked up an appetite! As we were driving along the coastline I spied a Shrimp Shack that looked really tempting. 
shrimp shackIsn't this the coolest picture? It was so bright and colorful - and well if you know me....this was right up my alley, I love all things bright and pretty! The lunch line was out the door and filled with locals - so in my opinion that gave it and A+ stamp of approval so in we went! (I looked it up on Google when we arrived home and they received four, FIVE STAR reviews!)
I had garlic shrimp. It was served with tons of rice and a mild potato/pasta salad. And let me tell you, it was delicious!
garlic shrimp
So of course when we came home, I decided I needed to do my very best at recreating this fabulous treat. I think I succeeded and then some! Dan (my hubby) said it's the best shrimp he's ever had. Slow roasted garlic, ginger and chili's combine to make an amazingly fresh flavored shrimp. A squeeze of lime at the end gives it just the zip I was looking for! This is fantastic - so easy and just a few ingredients, I love cooking when it's done this way!
Zesty Shrimp Shack Bowl
And one more picture from that day....here's where we spent the rest of it! Yup, right here on the beach - I think there was about 15 other people. It was a perfect day.
Waimanalo Beach
Heaven on earth - yep, this is it! All we needed that day was a drink in a coconut with an umbrella in it! It was the perfect day! I'll be posting more pictures and recipes from our amazing visit to this beautiful Island!
More shrimp recipes to try!
- Garlic Parmesan Shrimp
- Shrimp Scampi Linguine Recipe
- Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
- Spicy Thai Noodle Soup with Shrimp
- Grilled Shrimp Nicoise Salad Recipe
- Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp
Garlic Shrimp at the Shrimp Shack
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ cup chopped garlic you can purchase pre-chopped garlic!
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 Fresno chili seeded, membranes removed and finely minced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
- 1 teaspoon lime 1 zest and the lime juiced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 pound shrimp deveined, shells removed and rinsed
- 1 cup jasmine rice cooked according to package directions.
Instructions
- Make sure the shrimp is deveined and clean well, rinse and pat dry - set aside. Chop the garlic, mince the ginger, chili & cilantro.
- Next begin roasting the garlic & spices. Add the butter and canola oil to a large skillet over low heat. When the butter has melted, add the garlic, ginger and chopped chili. Continue cooking this on low and stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. Do not get in a hurry and turn up the heat. Roasting garlic slowly mellows the flavor of the garlic and makes it sweet and delicious. If you try and cook it more quickly the garlic will become bitter and that's definitely not what you are going for. Additionally, half a cup chopped garlic sounds like a lot, but do yourself a favor and cheat just this once and purchased the pre-chopped garlic (not minced!).
- Cook the rice according to package directions. When cooked, fluff with fork and set aside.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the shrimp in one layer across the pan. When pink on the first side 2-3 minutes, flip them over and cook the second side of the shrimp. About 5 minutes total.
- When the shrimp are cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Add the zest & juice of the lime, cilantro and soy sauce. Toss to coat evenly. Wa-la - you are done! Serve over cooked rice and with some fruit for a delicious, healthy meal.
