This is a 5 minute Butter garlic prawns recipe, which is a very delicious yet very simple recipe that anyone can easily make in their kitchen. Butter garlic prawns, worldwide also known as garlic butter shrimp, are the most scrumptious appetisers made by frying prawns or shrimps with butter and garlic. Butter garlic prawns are made with prawns, butter, minced garlic, parsley, lemon juice, crushed pepper, salt & spring onion. Prepared by lightly searing prawns in creamy butter with finely minced fresh garlic, a sprinkle of lemon juice, crushed pepper, chopped parsley, and lastly, mix with seasoning. Here I am also sharing most easiest step by step method through a short cooking video in detail for your reference, hope it will help you a lot.
For making this 5 minutes Butter garlic prawns recipe, quickly toss the prawns in a blend of melted butter with minced garlic straight into a sizzling pan. Prawns take just 5-6 minutes to fry in butter at a low heat. If fried over more than 5-6 minutes, prawns get hard & chewy due to overcooking. No marination is needed before cooking. Besides, less cooking time and no marination make this recipe quick and easy to prepare in this case.
However, lemon and parsley are the best practices for bringing the exact taste and flavour used in worldwide restaurants similar to the original recipe. Instead of parsley, you can even use basil, but skip using it if either of these 2 herbs is not available at home. Do not worry, herbs just enhance the flavour, do not hurt the taste if not added. As even in big fine dining restaurants or in 5-star hotels’ kitchens, white wine and fresh cream or mayonnaise are must-use ingredients to make the gravy. Here, I just use a little cornflour instead, which adds more creaminess to this gravy; not mandatory, but to make it gluten-free can skip it though.
Today I use medium size white prawns; however, no matter if you can make this dish with Jumbo or king-size prawns(like scampi or lobster) or tiger prawns, it always tastes fantastic. But must use fresh prawns and surely remove the shells and devein them before cooking. Prawn shells mainly their veins carry dirt, so cooking prawns with shells or without deveining can cause food poisoning.
One of the most important things about this recipe is, we need the right amount of butter for cooking. Here, butter must have a dipping consistency so that the prawns get dipped in butter while cooking. More importantly, this recipe calls for a quick sauteing of prawns in a generous amount of butter, but does not support deep frying.
On the other hand, prawns will get dry if cooked in less butter. Even the juiciness of the prawns will be missing due to using less butter, and also not get the exact creaminess found in restaurants’ butter garlic prawns. If you think adding too much butter would not be healthy, then you can cutdown the butter by using half butter and half oil(any Indian vegetable oil or olive oil).
To make it in a microwave oven or in an air fryer, wrap the prawns in aluminium foil mixing with the same amount of butter, garlic, herbs & seasoning and cook it on grill mode for 1 minute. Check after every 1 minute and stop cooking when you think the prawns are perfectly cooked. Once you can easily cut the prawns with the light pressure of a fork, it means it is done.
If you are using frozen prawns, then wait until the prawns come to a normal temperature and then cook. If frozen prawns are directly placed in the hot butter, prawns will release lots of water, causing burns on the skin from spluttering of the butter. Even preparing in this way takes a huge time to dry up the water, and prawns will get boiled in water rather than sautéing in butter, completely spoiling the taste of this dish.
Here I also share a detailed step by step cooking video for your convenience. Watch it.
If you are a vegetarian or allergic to prawns, can also try my cheesy stuffed mushroom recipe.
Love Continental chicken starters, can try my crispy fried chicken tenders.
Try another continental prawn starters from my website, crispy batter fried prawns, Japanese prawn tempura(shrimp tempura)
For Indian prawn starters, can try Grilled prawns(Grilled shrimp recipe), Tandoori prawns, Mangalore style prawn ghee roast recipe.
Simple Butter garlic prawns(shrimp) recipe in 5 minutes with video
This 5 mis recipe of soft, super creamy, melting in the mouth butter garlic prawns is perfect for enjoying dinner accompanied with one plate of cheesy white sauce pasta or a bowl of noodles with a sip of white wine!
Ingredients
- 500 g Medium White Prawns/Shrimps(deshelled & deveined)
- 60 g Salted Butter
- 2 tbsp Garlic(finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp Chopped Parsley/Basil(dry/fresh)
- 2 tbsp Spring Onion(chopped)
- 1/2 Lemon(lime) juice
- 1/2 tsp Cornflour
- 1 tsp White Pepper/Black Pepper(as per taste)
- 1/4 tsp salt(as required)
Appetizer/starter: Quick Bite
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Served in: 10 mins
Served for: 4-5 people
Author: Moumita Paul
How to make Butter garlic prawns with step by step pictures
Method
- Firstly, clean the prawns- remove the prawns’ heads and shells except for the tail(though optional).
- Devein the prawns(slit the back lengthwise from the middle and remove the vein) and thoroughly wash them before use.
- If using store-bought cleaned prawns, make sure prawns are deveined or not, devein them first, then thoroughly wash them and use.
- For cooking, place a frying pan or saucepan on low heat on the stove top.
- Add butter(can use half butter, half oil too); once the butter melts, add parsley(or basil), a little stir-fry. To make it with less butter, you can use half butter and half vegetable oil or olive oil.
- Then add the prawns(shrimp) to the pan and fry for 1 min.
- Next, add minced garlic to the pan and give it a nice mix with the prawns by tossing well in the butter.
- This way, fry the prawns for 3 more minutes.
- Once the prawns get a light pink colour on both sides, it means the prawns are almost done.
- Add pepper and salt, and fry for the next 30 seconds.
- Salt is already in the butter, so use it carefully to avoid over-salting the prawns and the butter garlic remaining.
- Sprinkle 1/2 lemon juice and add 1/2 tsp of cornflour(though totally optional) over the prawns, and quickly stir well.
- Once the cornflour is nicely mixed with the butter and garlic remaining, raise the heat and turn it into a slightly thick and creamy white gravy.
- Then sprinkle chopped spring onion on top, stir well and immediately turn off the heat.
- Butter garlic prawn is ready, serve as a starter before dinner or lunch, it is just awesome.
- Cornflour mixed with butter and garlic makes a creamy sauce-like consistency that also makes the gravy too yummy.
- Especially if the preparation seems more buttery, cornflour will change from buttery to slightly creamy.
Tips
Don’t overcook the prawns then it might get chewy
