Gambas ao Alhinho or Gambas à Guilho are Portuguese style shrimp, fried with plenty of olive oil and sliced garlic. This dish can be found in restaurants and snack bars all over Lisbon and Portugal, and it’s usually eaten as a starter with some fresh bread. It’s an absolute classic that’s super simple to prepare, and it comes together in under 30 minutes. It’s been my favourite way of eating shrimp lately, I’m sure it will be yours too! Keep on reading to learn how to make Portuguese style garlic shrimp.
Would You Like Some Shrimp with Your Garlic?
If you type shrimp on the search bar of my phone’s photo gallery, the result will be dozens of photos of this same Portuguese dish. I order it almost every time I see it on the menu, not only because it’s perfect for sharing, but because it’s absolutely delicious. Each restaurant has its own house twist, and it is never exactly the same. Some places completely remove the skins and heads of the shrimp, while others leave just the head. A lot of places will cook them as they come. The one thing they all have in common, lots of olive oil and lots of chunky garlic. Even those who are not big fans of garlic can still enjoy this dish as the garlic is quite easy to pick through.
Ingredients for Authentic Portuguese Garlic Prawns
This is perhaps one of the simplest Portuguese dishes to prepare. You will need shrimp, olive oil, lots of garlic, butter, white wine, chili flakes, sweet paprika, salt, black pepper, and fresh parsley or coriander.
For the shrimp, I recommend using the 20/30 calibre ones, that simply means that per a kilo of shrimp you will have 20 to 30 units. In Portugal, I recommend buying whole frozen shrimp, and avoid using the pre-cooked you will find in most supermarkets. If you can find fresh raw shrimp that’s even better! Fish markets are the best places to buy them from.
You’ll want to use good quality ingredients, a good white wine that you would drink, and a good extra virgin olive oil too. Before you start, make sure everything is prepped and measured so you don’t overcook your shrimp or burn the garlic.
Gambas ao Alhinho – The Recipe
If you are using frozen shrimp, the first step is to thaw it overnight. You then remove both the heads and the shells, they can be used in other recipes of mine like the Shrimp Rissoles. You can also leave the head on if you don’t mind it, it will add even more flavour to your sauce. If using larger shrimp you should also remove the vein that runs along the back as it may carry grit and sand. Just make a small incision and pull the vein out with the help of a tooth pick.
Next we thinly slice the garlic, and chop the fresh parsley. Meanwhile we place a stainless steel frying pan over low to medium heat and let it gain temperature. We then add in the olive oil and knob of butter, and the sliced garlic and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant.
The shrimp then goes in to sauté for about 5 minutes or until it turns pinkish. Next, we add in the paprika powder, chili flakes, and half of the chopped fresh parsley and let it cook for a minute before deglazing the pan with the white wine. Keep stirring for a minute or two to create and emmulsion.
Turn off the heat. Season with black pepper, and a pinch of salt if needed. Sprinkle the remaining fresh parsley on top, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Enjoy it with a crusty bread.
How to Make Portuguese Fried Garlic Shrimp
Gambas ao Alhinho – How to Make Portuguese Garlic Shrimp
6
servings15
minutes10
minutes215
kcalGambas ao Alhinho or Gambas à Guilho are Portuguese style shrimp, fried with plenty of olive oil and garlic.
Ingredients
800 g Shrimp (peeled and de-veined)
4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
7 Garlic Cloves – thinly sliced
25 g Cold Butter
1/2 Cup White wine (125ml)
1 Lemon – cut into wedges
1 tsp Sweet Paprika
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1/2 Bunch Fresh Parsley – Roughly Chopped
Salt – to taste
Black Pepper – to taste
Directions
- Start by thinly slicing the garlic and finely chopping the fresh parsley.
- Place a stainless steel frying pan over low-medium heat and allow it to warm up. Add the olive oil, butter and sliced garlic. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- Add the shrimp and sauté for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until they turn pale pink and are cooked through. Add the paprika, chilli flakes and half of the chopped parsley, and cook for another minute.
- Pour in the white wine and stir continuously for 1–2 minutes, allowing the wine, olive oil and butter to emulsify into a light sauce.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Season with freshly ground black pepper and add a pinch of salt if needed. Sprinkle over the remaining parsley and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- Serve straight away with some crusty bread.
Notes
- If you are using frozen shrimp, make sure to thaw it in the fridge overnight.
- You can replace the fresh parsley with fresh cilantro.
- The shrimp already contains salt so make sure to check first before seasoning with more.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments, I always love to hear from you!