How to select the best shrimp:
- Buying the best ingredients is always important but even more so with shrimp. Try to find large peeled and de-veined shrimp at your grocery store, and stay away from the very small shrimp as they overcook too easily.
- Look for "jumbo shrimp" in the seafood aisle. If it isn't peeled and deveined you can always ask the fish monger to do it for you.
How to cook the shrimp:
- I cook my shrimp hot and fast so that they have a crispy exterior but stay perfectly cooked inside.
- Make sure you set your burner to medium heat.
- Wait until the pan and oil
gets hot before placing the shrimp in the pan. You should hear a nice sizzle when the shrimp hits the pan. - Cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Why should I toast the rice?
- Toasting the rice before you cook it in water will bring out the full flavor of the grains. It is a really important step in creating the most flavorful dish possible.
- Some people like to add some onion or shallots along with the rice while it is toasting but since we are blending our own rice liquid mixture (roma tomato, onion, garlic, and jalapeno) you don't need to do that here.
Top tips for this dish:
- Don't overcook the shrimp. You will know when they are done because shrimp naturally curl when they are ready to eat.
- The exterior of the shrimp should look opaque and crispy.
- Don't worry too much about slightly burning the garlic and onion in the pan- they won't leave the shrimp tasting smoky unless you really really overdo it 🙂
- Not a fan of rice? You can eat these shrimp alone or with a green vegetable.
- I made a nice and simple side salad (featured in the photo) with a cilantro lime vinaigrette dressing.
Mexican Style Shrimp and Rice
I absolutely love this Mexican style shrimp and rice recipe. The mix of garlic, onion, and chili pepper gives the shrimp a ton of flavor. And once you have homemade Mexican rice you will never want to eat it at a restaurant again. Best of all this recipe easy and quick, you will be eating in 30 minutes.
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 374kcal
Ingredients
For the shrimp
- 1 lb large shrimp Peeled and deveined
- 4 cloves of garlic divided
- 4 thin slices of onion divided
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp grapeseed oil you can use olive oil if you don't have grapeseed
- 1 squeeze of a half a lime
For the rice
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 roma tomato
- ½ jalapeno
- 2 cups water divided
Instructions
For the shrimp
(It's best to marinade the shrimp, if possible, before you pan or grill cook them. Even 10 minutes marinading is better than nothing.)
- Place your shrimp in a small bowl that has enough room for the onion garlic.
- Cut 4 thin slices of onion, set two aside (those two will be for the rice). Dice the 2 remaining slices and put on top of the shrimp in the bowl.
- Mince 2 cloves of garlic and add them to the bowl of shrimp.
- Add the grapeseed oil to the bowl of shrimp, onion, and garlic.
- Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and chili powder onto the shrimp bowl and mix until distributed evenly.
- Cover and set inside your refrigerator for 10 minutes minimum, 45 minutes maximum.
For the rice
- Cut the Roma tomato into 4 parts, place in blender.
- Add the ½ jalapeno, 2 slices of reserved onion, and 2 garlic cloves, and one cup of water into the blender to join the tomato. Blend until smooth.
- Head 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Set the burner to medium heat. Add the rice to the pan and brown rice for 5 minutes or until the color turns slightly golden. VERY IMPORTANT: make sure you move the rice around constantly so that it doesn't burn.
- Add the blended tomato, garlic, onion, water, and jalapeno from the blender into the pan to join the rice. Add one more cup of water.
- Cook rice for approximately 20 minutes. It's best to keep a close eye on your rice to make sure that it doesn't burn. Try not to take the top off too many times or move the rice around, it comes out best when you do not disturb it more than you need to.
For the shrimp
- Take the marinating shrimp out of the refrigerator.
- Put 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and set heat to medium. Wait for pan to get hot before adding the shrimp. You want to make sure that when you do add the shrimp you hear an immediate sizzle when they hit the pan. Add the shrimp and all contents of the marinade to the pan.
- Cook shrimp until they have curled and turned opaque, usually 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't worry if it looks like the garlic and shrimp and browning too fast, as long as you don't overcook the shrimp then the garlic and onion will be fine.
- Plate the shrimp on top of the rice and serve immediately. Best with a side salad or green vegetables. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 5shrimp | Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 285mg | Sodium: 1504mg | Potassium: 400mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 650IU | Vitamin C: 22.5mg | Calcium: 222mg | Iron: 3.4mg
*Nutrition Disclaimer
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