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Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp is the most amazing shrimp recipe! The Shrimp Cooks in the most delicious garlic-infused butter! Serve with a macaroni salad!
I am taking you to a Hawaiian Shrimp Truck today with my homemade Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp.
Just a word of warning, these shrimp are GARLICKY!
Ever since we went to Hawaii a couple of years ago, I’ve been dying to come up with a homemade version of the Hawaiian garlic shrimp scampi we had on our trip.
We waited what seemed like forever because it was an itty bitty food truck with a huge line (at lunchtime,) and just two people working. But I’ll say this much, it was well worth the wait.
Think succulent, shell-on shrimp ladened with buttery garlic butter. These extra large shrimp were definitely the highlight of the trip. You could smell the garlic before they even handed you your food and that to me is the best thing.
Amazing recipe! Absolutely divine paired with your Coconut Rice recipe! We will definitely be making this again and again. Thank you for sharing.
Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp Ingredients
- Extra Large Shrimp: leave the tail-on but peel and remove the vein
- Large Garlic Cloves: you’ll need some to make the garlic butter and then some pre-fried garlic. I typically buy this from a local Vietnamese grocery store, but there are tons of videos on how you can make crispy fried-garlic at home!
- Butter: the base of the sauce. I use salted, but unsalted butter works too
- Oil: we’ll cook the garlic in this as the base of the sauce
- Cornstarch: adds a bit of a crust to the outside of the shrimp so the seasonings have something to cling to
- Seasonings: you’ll need smoked paprika and red pepper flakes to give it plenty of flavor. Swap the flakes for cayenne pepper if you need more heat
- Soy sauce: give it the sodium and umami the recipe needs
- Fish sauce: we’re skipping kosher salt because the fish sauce and soy sauce provide plenty of sodium
- Brown sugar: adds a touch of sweetness
- Fried Garlic: as a crunchy garnish at the end. You can buy it here
- Lemon Juice: serve it with a few lemon wedges of the side to squeeze it fresh.
- Fresh Chopped Parsley: give it a little color!
How to make the best hawaiian garlic shrimp
- Infuse the butter with all that garlic
- Dust the shrimp with cornstarch and cook the shrimp in the garlic-infused butter
- Toss it with all the flavorings
- Finish with the fried garlic, scallions, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice
Serving Suggestions
- Instant Pot Coconut Rice or white rice
- Garlic Noodles
- Summer Coleslaw
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- Garlicky Green Beans
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
- It has garlic butter AND fried garlic
- Ready in about 20 minutes if you buy shrimp that already has the peel and vein removed
- It’s gluten-free so if you’re cooking or people with dietary restrictions, this can be enjoyed by everyone
- Perfect for lent if you’re looking for a way to shake things up
- It’s like a crawfish boil, only it’s way easier and honestly, way better
Garlicky Hawaiian Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any high heat oil
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or 1-2 teaspoons if you aren't a fan
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ cup fried garlic for topping
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Fresh chopped parsley for topping
Instructions
- INFUSE: Add the garlic, butter, and oil to a large skillet and set it over medium-low heat. Let the butter infuse with the garlic for 5-7 minutes, stirring often. The garlic should barely sizzle here, you don’t want it to brown. Prepare the shrimp while the butter is infusing.
- TOSS: Add cornstarch and smoked paprika to a large ziptop bag, zip and shake to combine. Add shrimp, shake to combine, and set aside. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Stir and set aside for now.
- REMOVE: When the garlic is done, carefully remove it to a small bowl, leaving behind as much of the oil-butter mixture as possible.
- COOK: Kick the heat up to medium-high. Add shrimp in a single layer, allowing them to sauté for roughly a minute on each side or until they start to turn up into a ‘c’ shape. Do this in batches so they cook evenly.
- FINISH: Add prepared sauce mixture, toss to combine. Top with butter infused garlic, sliced scallions or parsley, and the fried garlic.
- SERVE: Squeeze lemon juice on top before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Delicious, huge hit! I made the shrimp with the garlic noodles and couldn’t have been better. I was too rushed and too lazy to do garlic chips and it was still so good. Can’t wait to have more time and do again.
This recipe looks amazing! My husband is Hawaiian and I lived there when I met him..Yes you changed it up a bit of it but stayed true to the heart !
Amazing recipe! Absolutely divine paired with your Coconut Rice recipe! We will definitely be making this again and again. Thank you for sharing.
This is my husband’s favorite and we usually pair it w/ your garlic noodles b/c he’s garlic obsessed. I was wondering about the Hawaiian macaroni salsa hog mentioned. Since it’s already hot here in Houston this seems like a good summer side. Do you have a recipe you like for Hawaiian macaroni salad?
So happy to hear you’ve made both the garlic noodles and this shrimp scampi! I haven’t shared a recipe for the Hawaiian macaroni salad yet. Truth be told I didn’t love any of the ones I had on Maui, unfortunately. But I’ll definitely see if I can put one together before summer kicks in full force 🙂