Cooked by my daughter, Alex, back in 2016 during her early days in culinary school. She was experimenting with grilling, and the idea of charring fresh fruits appealed to her tremendously. She was also learning to make flatbreads at the time. And that is why the chili lime shrimp skewers were served with grilled pineapple and pita. The recipe is the same as it was back in 2016. It’s perfect as it is.
But, a few tips in making this dish… First, small shrimps won’t do. They for sauteeing and stir frying, but for skewers, you’ll need medium to large shrimps. Whether or not to leave the tails on is a matter of personal preference.
Why not marinate the shrimps instead of simply basting them? Won’t they be tastier that way? There is lime juice in the sauce. If you’re familiar with ceviche and how an acidic ingredient can change the texture of seafood, well, you wouldn’t want to marinate shrimps in lime juice. A viable option is to toss the shrimps in the basting sauce just before skewering them. That would have the effect of seasoning them but not marinating them.
About the length of cooking time… Shrimps don’t need a long time to cook. When overdone, they shrivel to the point where they lose all the juices that make them so wonderfully succulent. They become rubbery and that’s a waste of good shrimps.
And, the last thing… It’s monsoon season as I update this recipe. And it sounds strange to encourage readers to make chili lime shrimp skewers if we can’t even make them again here at home. When weather doesn’t allow outdoor grilling, we use a stovetop grill to cook shrimp skewers.
Chili lime shrimp skewers
Equipment
- bamboo skewers
Ingredients
- 12 to 24 shrimps peeled and deveined
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- ½ teaspoon bird’s eye chilies finely sliced
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon lime juice or lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
- oil for brushing the grill
Instructions
- Dry the shrimps with paper towels, place in a bowl, add the salt and pepper, toss and set aside.
- Make the basting sauce by mixing together the garlic, ginger, chilies, melted butter, lime juice and honey.
- Thread the shrimps with the bamboo skewers.
- Preheat the stovetop grill and brush lightly with oil. Set the heat on HIGH.
- Arrange the shrimp skewers on the grill at an inch apart. Do not touch them during the first 30 seconds to allow the undersides to cook and char properly.
- Flip the skewers over after about a minute and brush the top sides with sauce.
- Grill the opposite sides for another 15 to 20 seconds.
- Flip and brush the top sides with more sauce.
- Repeat the grilling, flipping and brushing two to three times.
- Serve the grilled chili lime shrimp skewers at once.
