Grilled Sweet & Spicy Shrimp
Great as hors d'oeuvres when served alongside thinly sliced, grilled ciabatta bread, or as an entree on top of fluffy white rice.
The inspiration for this dish came from a 2003 gift from a friend. It was a commercially prepared sweet and spicy Asian sauce that came in a blue bottle with a cork stopper and had a brand name of China Blū. I seem to recall I reordered it once, and then they went out of business. Today, I cannot find any Internet record the brand ever existed, but I remember its taste distinctly, which I served over grilled shrimp as hors d’oeuvres with buttered, toasted slices of French baguette.
Fast forward to a small cocktail party about ten years later and I wanted to serve this dish, so I had to improvise and create the taste that I remember. This gets pretty close.
An Important Ingredient: Sambal Oelek
Sambal Oelek literally means “crushed chilies” in Indonesian. It’s a simple paste of medium hot ground red chili peppers and may contain a bit of salt and vinegar. The Huy Fong brand - instantly recognizable with its bright green lid, gold label and rooster logo (the same people who introduced the western world to Sriracha Sauce) - claims no other ingredients go into its Sambal Oelek paste other than chilies.
A Cast Iron Stovetop Grill Pan Makes a Difference
Unless you plan on grilling your shrimp on an outdoor grill, which you certainly can and it’s a delicious way to go, you will need a stovetop grill pan. If you have a gas or induction stove, I recommend one made of cast iron. I would not recommend it for an electric stove, however. The advantage of using cast iron is that it will carry more heat which provides a bit of char, to add flavor and visual appeal to the dish.
Grilled Sweet & Spicy Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 lb large or jumbo shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tails removed
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (like Kikkoman Less Sodium)
- 1/2 cup ground chili paste (like, Huy Fong Sambal Oelek)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 green onion finely chopped, whites and green stems separated
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Dry the shrimp as much as possible by putting in paper towels and squeezing gently. Then, cover in fresh, dry paper towels and allow the shrimp to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
- If you serving the shrimp as hors d'oeuvres, cut each shrimp into two. You can omit this step if you're serving as an entree.
- Pre-heat the grilling pan over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes.
- Coat the shrimp in the vegetable oil.
- Raise the heat under the grilling pan to high and carefully lay the shrimp out in the pan. Cook the shrimp 3-4 minutes on each side until they take on a few grill marks. Don't crowd the pan; cook in batches if needed.
- Add the soy sauce, ground chili paste, honey, sesame oil, minced garlic and the white parts of the green onion to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- When the shrimp are done, toss them in the sauce to thoroughly. Garnish with the chopped green onion stems.
Notes
- Frozen shrimp thaw very quickly in a colander under cold running water, turning and tossing the shrimp frequently to get its cold water shower.
- Do this about 30 minutes prior to cooking, then dry the shrimp thoroughly as specified in the recipe above.
