Author Notes: This weeknight dinner for one is inspired by an incredible garlic shrimp I had at a Chinese restaurant in Hawaii. When roasted at high heat in a quarter sheet pan like this, marinated shrimp cooks up gorgeously and begins to caramelize in its own juices, creating a sauce that’s made even saucier thanks to a last-minute pat of butter and spritz of lemon juice. Though the usual scampi players are present (garlic, lemon, and red pepper flakes), I went with mirin instead of white wine and soy sauce instead of salt, lending it some of that Waikiki palate. I anticipate that many will wish to skip the optional pinch of sugar, but I implore you not to; for me, anyway, this dish didn’t fully come together until that one pinch. But to each their own: That is the point of cooking for yourself, isn’t it? You can tailor a recipe to your predilections. As for my predilections, I like to eat this straight out of the pan with a bowl of white rice and an ice-cold beer, just as I had it in Hawaii. —Eric Kim
Food52 Review: Featured in: A Sheet-Pan Shrimp Scampi for When You’re Alone & Happy Alone. —The Editors
Serves: 1
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients
-
1/2
pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
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2
cloves garlic, grated
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1
tablespoon soy sauce
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1
tablespoon mirin
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1
tablespoon olive oil
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1
pinch sugar, optional
-
1/2
teaspoon red pepper flakes
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1/2
lemon, zested and juiced
-
1
tablespoon butter
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1
bowl white rice, for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a small bowl, stir together the shrimp, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, olive oil, sugar, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest. Marinate for 10 minutes.
- Lay shrimp on a quarter sheet pan in a single layer and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Out of the oven, add butter and toss the shrimp until coated and butter is melted, then spritz with lemon half. Serve with white rice.