Butter Garlic Steamed Prawns (Cantonese Style)

I stopped by 99 Ranch today after work to buy fruits and as usual, I bought many other items that caught my eyes. I passed by the fresh seafood section and the live shrimps were on sale!!!! I immediately thought of making the dish I had at my favorite Chinese restaurant (R&G Lounge). I bought 3 lbs of these babies and I couldn't wait to go home and prepare the dinner. I also bought 2 heads of cauliflower to pair with the shrimps as a side dish which I will post as well separately.

This classic Cantonese steamed shrimp with garlic and butter dish takes a little bit of work - mostly for slicing each shrimp in half - butterfly style. The rewarding taste of fresh shrimp in rich garlic steamed to perfection is well worth it! The shrimps are sweet and tender.

I also made this dish a while back. You can check out the same recipe here

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 2-3

2 lbs live Shrimp (butterflied)

1 large fresh garlic bulb (finely minced)

1 stick butter

In a small pan, melt the butter and stir the garlic in it for about 1 minute. Do not let the garlic turn brown. Turn off the heat

Rinse the shrimps thorougly. Split the shrimps in half by cutting them from the back meat side. Make sure that your knife is really sharp otherwise, the shrimps will be mushed. Arrange the shrimps in a round pie platter or large plate.

Heat the wok or steamer or a large pan and add water. Put a bowl upside down in the middle of the wok. Put the plate of shrimp on top of the upside down plate and make sure its evenly in the middle just to make sure that the plate is not submerged in the water. Sprinkle the melted butter and garlic all over the shrimps. Cover and steam for about 8 minutes or until the shrimps have turned bright pink. 

Enjoy with rice and a veggie side. Or serve as an appetizer.