Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti

A classic Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti dish that’s absolutely loaded with flavors. This simple, Asian-inspired dish is the perfect hearty meal to feed the family for a busy midweek meal. It is ready in under 20 minutes, yet the flavors that the dish produces are so big and powerful. The beautiful Shrimp are lightly cooked in Butter and then paired with a robust, yet simple seasoning of Garlic, Chili, and Scallions. Throw in some perfectly cooked Spaghetti and finish the whole dish off with some fresh Lemon Juice and dinner is served! A simple and tasty meal for the family

Our Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti dish takes hallmark Asian ingredients to create a simple, delicious meal

What I love about this recipe is the classic flavor combinations that just work so well together. Nothing beats Garlic, Chili, and Onions (in this case, Scallions). The flavors and aromas this trio of delicious flavors creates is truly amazing. When you add a load of Butter to the mix too you’re in flavor heaven!

These classic Asian flavors work best when cooked over a high heat for a few minutes. There’s no need to cook them for much longer than that, as you still want to maintain their beautiful textures and flavor without burning them. In fact, all you need to do is smell it to know when its done. Once the Garlic, Chili, and Scallions start to release their beautiful aromas, then they are done

A generous hand of Salt and Pepper is what this dish needs

While most dishes call for seasoning to bring out the best flavor of their ingredients, our Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti recipe takes the concept of seasoning to the next level. For the best results we highly urge you to be very generous with your seasoning

This dish was inspired by our Salt and Pepper Squid recipe which uses a serious amount of Salt and Pepper. Seafood can take a lot of seasoning, and we really want those flavors to stand out in this dish. Especially when competing against some heavy hitting flavors like Chili and Garlic, you’ll need a heavy hand for seasoning!

I like to use a mortar and pestle to grind up my Peppercorns for this recipe. It will be a lot quicker than using a hand grinder, as the dish calls for at least 2 tsp. of Pepper. For some extra funky flavors, try mixing Szechuan Peppercorns into the Pepper mix. It adds even more dimension to the flavors in this dish, and tastes amazing

Our recipe calls for Spaghetti, but you can use any kind of Pasta you want

This dish is the perfect midweek meal for the family. Quick, easy, and packed full of flavors is what good midweek cooking should all be about. You can use any kind of pasta you’ve got tucked away in your pantry that you choose. It’s going to taste great regardless of what you use

We used Spaghetti for this recipe, mainly because we had some lying around, and it looks pretty nice in photos. However, any Pasta type is going to work great. So, from Macaroni to Spirals, or Fettuccini to Pappardelle, they’re all going to taste amazing. Just adjust your cooking time accordingly based on the type of Pasta you are using, as some take a little more / less time to cook

The cooking technique for the Pasta remains the same. Simply bring a large pot filled with heavily Salted water to a boil over high heat. Then drop your Pasta in and cook it until it’s al-dente. You can tell when it’s done because the Pasta will be tender yet still have a bit of resistance or ‘bite’ to it. I like to check it at around the 8 minute mark. The only way to test if it’s cooked is to have a bite and see for yourself!

You can cook the Shrimp and aromatics at the same time your Pasta is cooking

To save time on cooking we highly recommend a little bit of multi-tasking in the kitchen. Set your water over the stovetop on high heat and bring it to a boil, then drop the Pasta in and allow it to cook. This whole process will take a little under 20 minutes but doesn’t require a lot of work. So, while the water is heating, and Pasta is cooking you can make the rest of the dish

Preparing the Shrimp, Garlic, and Chili

This dish is a classic Stir Fry, all ingredients are cooked in the one pot. For this recipe we use Butter instead of Oil, which isn’t a traditional Asian ingredient. However, this dish is ‘inspired’ by Asian cuisine, not a truly authentic one. I find the Butter works great with Shrimp and adds a luxurious finish to the shellfish

Add the Butter to a large frying pan or Wok over high heat. Once the Butter has melted, add your Shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes on each side until they’re about 90% completely cooked. Make sure your Shrimp has been generously seasoned with Salt and Pepper before it goes into the pan

Once cooked, remove the Shrimp and set it aside. Add some more Butter and then in goes the Garlic, Chili, and Scallions. We add more Salt and Pepper to the aromatics and then cook the whole thing for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the Garlic! Once you can smell the amazing scents from the spices, it’s done

By this time your Pasta should be completely cooked. If you can time it perfectly you can simply strain the Pasta straight away and add it to the frying pan where the Garlic, Chili, and Scallions are. Add the Shrimp into the pan as well and mix it all together. Finish with a squeeze of Lemon Juice and its ready to serve!

Control the spice levels with Chili and Pepper

You can make this Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti dish as spicy as you like based on how much Chili and Pepper you use. We just use regular Red Chilis for this dish, which have a little bit of heat in them which is significantly ramped up if you include the seeds. I recommend keeping the seeds in the dish. You’ll get a lovely warmth to the dish without it being ridiculous

This is a Pepper heavy dish that will influence how spicy the dish becomes. We recommend being quite aggressive with the Pepper, and using Szechuan Peppercorns will help add even more heat to the dish. You can of course scale the heat back if you prefer, or even season the plated dishes with some additional Chili and Pepper so each person can season their own dish

Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti Recipe

Ingredients

• 200g Shrimp
• 30g Unsalted Butter
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 2 Red Chilis, finely sliced
• 2 Scallions, finely sliced
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Instructions

1. Bright a large pot of salted Water to the boil then add the Spaghetti. Cook until al dente (about 8 – 10 minutes). Strain and set aside
2. While the Spaghetti is cooking, season the Shrimp well with Salt and Pepper. Add half the Butter (15g) to a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once melted add the Shrimp and cook for 2 minutes on each side
3. Set Shrimp aside then add the remaining Butter. Once melted, add Garlic, Chili, and Scallions and season well with Salt and Pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant
4. Return the cooked Shrimp to the pan along with the Spaghetti. Mix well and then remove from heat
5. Finish with Lemon Juice and serve immediately
   
   

Recipe Notes

• For a fun flavor profile, try seasoning the Shrimp with ground Szechuan Peppercorns
• Keep a few of the Chili Seeds in the dish for extra heat
  
  

This simple Garlic and Chili Shrimp Spaghetti dish is so easy to make yet is packed full of flavor. It’s a fantastic midweek meal for the family as it requires very little effort for the huge flavors it brings to the table

For more simple and delicious recipes, try some of these favorites of ours:

• Cast Iron Tarragon Chicken
• Roast Beef Dinner
• Butter Chicken
• Grilled Steak and Onion Tacos
  
  

Happy Cooking!