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Guys!! Honey. Garlic. Butter. Shrimp. YESSSS!
All done with Belizean inspired flavors…which yes, is just as good as at sounds. Or at least I think it sounds good…. cause IT IS.
So let me explain this recipe, as it has a bit of a story. My brother and his girlfriend Lyndsie were just in Central America traveling through Guatemala, Belize and those areas. These two do a lot of traveling, I like to call them the “wanderers”. Basically they’ve figured out the key to life….travel, eat really good food and be happy. I could never be them because it’s just not my personality type, but sounds pretty awesome, and to each their own!
Technically they went on this trip for “work”, but let’s be real, chillin on the beach and drinking tequila sounds a lot more like vacay. They were on the hunt for textiles, furniture, antiques and that sort of thing for Lyndsie’s sister, who is an interior designer in LA. A little work and lot of relax is how they like to do things. Like I said, they’ve got things figured out.
Speaking of the fam, some of them went to Cincinnati and then up to Cleveland over the weekend to celebrate my cousin Matt’s graduation. Matt is one month younger than me, and guys, we could not be in more different places in our lives. Matt is SO excited to be done with school and have a little time off before he starts his new job at the Cleveland Clinic and steps out into the real world. Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing right now if I took a more traditional path. Like would I be writing this blog? Writing a cookbook? Would I have fallen in love with food photography? Or would I be a stylist in LA drinking kombuchas out the yazoo?? Like what? I wonder about this sometimes, but I’m super happy with where I’m at, so that has me pretty pumped!! That said, I am so happy for Matt! Graduating is such a huge deal…like HUGE. It takes a lot of freaking work to get through four years of school.
Congrats Mathew! 🙂
PS. all weekend long I was watching everyone’s snapchats back in Ohio, and man, they sure know how to have a good time…whoa.
ANYWAY, back to this KILLER Belizean Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp.
Brendan’s and Lyndsie’s trip through Central America, and all the delicious food they ate, inspired this shrimp. I’m sure it’s not super traditional or anything, but all the flavors are spot on. Coconut, garlic, shrimp, cilantro, plantains, jalapeño, ginger, rice and black beans.
All the good things in the world. 🙂
I’m actually not a huge shrimp person, I mean, I like it, but it’s got to be seasoned perfectly and just super flavorful. Plain shrimp I just can’t do, it’s too fishy or something for me.
SO, this shrimp is PACKED full of, but don’t worry, it’s still simple, fast and easy!! I’m all about these three elements now a days.
Here’s how this goes.
Start out by tossing your shrimp with olive oil, ginger, garlic, cilantro, honey, jalapeños, cumin and cayenne. This is the marinade/sauce, but the shrimp really only needs to sit in the marinade for about ten minutes or so because you also cook it in the same marinade, which in turn creates a yummy sauce! Once you’ve cooked the shrimp a bit, you then add the butter and sort of caramelize that garlic…YUM.
Then just finish up with the coconut milk and a generous handful of fresh basil.
Serve with a side of rice, avocado, black beans and fried plantains.
Done and DONE. It’s a super quick, no fuss meal, which I love on a Monday.
BUT, and this is SUPER important, you gotta, gotta, gotta make those fried plantains and a side of steamed rice. One, because the plantains are everything, and two, you need the rice for soaking up all the delicious honey garlic butter sauce. Obviously.
For real though, this sauce is EVERYTHING. You should probably put it on everything…thinking chicken, salmon, maybe even cook some chickpeas in it and get them all crispy…that would be YUM.
Either way though, the rice, the avocado and the plantains are a MUST. Just saying.
Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp In Coconut Milk with Fried Plantains.
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw tail on shrimp
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4-6 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated (I like using around 4)
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 jalapenos, seeded + chopped
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use less for less heat, maybe 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped + more fore serving
- kosher salt + pepper
- steamed white rice + black beans + sliced avocado, for serving
Fried Plantains
- 4 inch yellow plantains, sliced into 1/2 rounds
- oil, for frying
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Add the shrimp to a gallon size ziplock bag or medium size bowl. Add the olive oil, honey, garlic, ginger, jalapeños, cayenne, cumin and cilantro. Toss well to combine, seal the bag or cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes or up 24 hours.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot use a slotted spoon to scoop the shrimp out of the marinade, reserving the marinade, and into the hot skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the reserved marinade, the butter and 1 teaspoon pepper (or more or less to your taste) to the skillet. Continue to cook the shrimp in the butter until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn LIGHT golden brown, about another minute or two. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk and basil.
- Serve shrimp alongside rice, black beans, fried plantains, avocado and lime wedges. Garnish with freshly chopped basil.
Fried Plantains
- Heat an inch or so of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the plantains and fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until just lightly golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Now transfer the plantains to a cutting board and, using the back of a wooden spoon, smash them down into round flat disks.
- Return the plantains to the hot oil and fry another 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are golden and crispy. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Chips are best eaten right after frying, but any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Sooo, Monday night dinner??!! FOR SURE. K, bye. ?
This looks fantastic! I love anything and everything with shrimp. Your pictures are amazing as well! 😀
YAY! Thank you Mia!!
OMG I am drooling…can this dish be made with chicken for those allergic to shellfish? Thanks for another amazing “drool” worthy recipe!
Hey Tamara!! Yes!! This can definitely be made with chicken, that will be amazing!! Just make sure you cook the chicken fully. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks so much!!
I am not a shrimp person (I can eat it but I guess I haven’t had a dish that would make me go whoa,that’s really good! – and I also know what you mean by being them too fishy 🙂 ) but I would eat this right away! 🙂
Thats SO awesome to hear! Non shrimp eater eating shrimp!! Thank you!!
Oh my my ! Looks delicious ! I’m new to all seafood ! I’ve never really eaten them before, not that I didn’t like them, just because as a kid my parents never cooked any, so I wasn’t really into trying them out all by myself. It’s kinda scary when you never had them before and you don,t know if you’ll like it?
My boyfriend family is from Gaspésie, and it’s just living by the sea in front of lobster, crab, shrimp and everything seafood. So I tried them all. And damn I start to really like it !
So. I don’t really like cocktail shrimp, small shrimps, frozen shrimps…. But give me big fresh shrimps with a good sauce/marinade and I’ll eat them all !
Now I wanna go to my local fish market, buy a ton of shrimps, and cook this ! It look fantastic !
Hi Erika!! It totally is scary if you haven’t had them before, but its awesome your broadening your taste buds!! So awesome that you’re liking it! Hope this recipe is just as delicious as something from Gaspésie!! Thanks Erika!
I don’t like shrimp, but your recipe made me rethink this LOL.
It is beautiful and must be delicious. Maybe I’ll do for my boyfriend- he loves shrimp.
And as a Brazilian I can say that you hit bull’s eyes with those plantains. ????
LOL! I hope he loves it! So happy I got it right with the plantains! Thanks Cintia!
This looks incredible! Fried plantains are basically my favorite thing in the world..and so are shrimp with garlic butter. Need to make this ASAP!
Thank you Molly! I hope you love it!
Wishing I hadn’t had shrimp for dinner last night, but am thinking I will most definitely be making this with something else for dinner this week as it just sounds too good! I have often lived vicariously through my friends that travel and it sounds like you do that with your brother and express it through food.
YAY Hope you love it! I totally do, I wish it were me most of the time! Thanks Jean
It is true. I have had shrimp on my mind. Recipe sounds luscious.
Thank you Jude!
Oh wow… what a fun Monday meal. Love it Tieghan! (And I love following this awesome non-traditional path of yours, BTW. Not many people figure out their true passion in life at 21/(22?) years old… and some of us are still figuring it out at twice your age! 🙂 Happy Monday!
Thank you!!! I love doing new stuff too!! Your right!! Im so lucky to have found what I love doing early in life! Thank you!
I’m so in! That’s so cool that your family is so spread out but you guys all stay connected like you do. I love the sound of your brother and his girlfriend’s lifestyle of travel and adventure. I especially love that it’s inspiring new food flavors for you!
It’s pretty fun!! Rarely a boring moment in our family! Always something going on!!
oh this looks so so good, I must try this!!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt
Thank you Miranda! Hope you love it !!
Sounds nice and a little different. Thanks and have a great week.
Hi Liz! Hope you love it! Thanks!! You too(:
This sounds absolutely delicious! I don’t think we’ve ever really cooked something Brazilian-inspired, but it sounds like something that needs to happen soon. Love this idea!
It so needs to happen!! I think you’ll love it!
Tieghan, being a total shrimp person myself I’m in love with this dish. And yes, that sauce pretty much belong on everything else too!!!
YAY so good to hear! Thank you!!
honey garlic butter sauce?? yes! also thinking it would be great with bread or tossed with roasted veggies.
Thank you !!!! YES it would be great with roasted veggies!! Such a good idea! Thanks Heather!