Spicy Peel-and-Eat Shrimp with Honey-Gochujang Glaze
This recipe for peel-and-eat shrimp takes less than 10 minutes to make, with a sweet and spicy combination of flavors. It’s the perfect appetizer or easy go-to light meal.
I love a good, easy recipe. Don’t you? As I’m working my way through writing my new cookbook about easy spicy meal recipes, shrimp has been a go-to. It is certainly one of the most popular seafood options available, and it cooks up so darned fast. With shrimp, you barely have any cooking time. Heck, it takes longer to thaw the shrimp than to cook it if you’re working with frozen shrimp, which most of us do.
AND! Shrimp is quite mild in flavor, so it really picks up all the ingredients and flavors you throw at it and gives them back to you with each bite. I call that a big WIN.
Especially with this recipe. We’re talking Spicy Peel-and-Eat Shrimp with Honey-Gochujang Glaze.
YES! New FAVE!
Dude!
Let’s talk about some of the flavors we’re using here for this recipe. It’s a great combo. We’re using Old Bay seasoning, which is incredibly popular in the Northeastern region of the U.S., though you can find it all over the place. It’s a mixture of chili powder and other seasonings. If you can’t find it, a good Cajun or Creole blend will do you just fine.
We have butter, which is essential for a bit of that fatty mouth feel, and we have the one-two punch combination of honey and gochujang. BOOM!
What is gochujang, you ask? Well! If you have not yet cooked with gochujang, I urge you to hurry out and grab yourself a bottle instantly. Gochujang is a fermented chili paste that is sort of similar to sriracha, only it is much less sweet than the American version and HUGE on flavor. I’ve tried several brands and each on is slightly different, though they’re all about the consistency of ketchup and darker in color.
Here is a link to one that I really like – Amazon affililate link, my friends – Buy bibigo Gochung Sauce (hot and sweet). This, mixed with honey, and you’ve got BIG flavor in practically no time at all. As I said, new favorite recipe right here. I’ll be making more of this in the very near future.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget your favorite hot sauce! Just a dash or 2 should do.
It’s a great appetizer, but it can also easily become your meal with a simple side vegetable. An ear of sweet corn would be a nice accompaniment, or maybe some boiled or oven roasted fingerling potatoes.
Making it is truly a snap. You’ll have this done in 10 minutes or so, maybe a bit longer if you need to clean out the shrimp or if you’re a slow cook like me. Basically, toss the cleaned shrimp with a bit of olive oil, Old Bay seasoning and salt and pepper. Feel free to go heavy on the Old Bay. I know you like a LOT of flavor.
Heat up some butter in a large pan and toss in the shrimp. You’ll cook them down a couple minutes per side until they are cooked through and nice and pink.
Next, whisk together that amazing gochujang with a bit of honey and your favorite hot sauce, then toss the hot shrimp in the mixture. I like to finish them off with a healthy sprinkling of hot pepper flakes and a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice.
BOOM! You’re done! Easy, right? Serve them right out of the pan and watch them disappear. Have some extra napkins on hand. It gets a little messy, but you’ll love it.
I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you make them. I’d love to hear how they turned out for you. — Mike H.
- 1 pound unpeeled shrimp cleaned
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning or a good Cajun blend will do
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons gochujang
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce
- 1 lemon for juice
- Hot pepper flakes
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If the shrimp tails have not been cleaned, use a kitchen knife or scissors to cut through the tail end shell and clean out the digestive track. Rinse to ensure the shrimp are properly cleaned. Toss them in a large bowl with olive oil, Old Bay or Cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper.
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Next, heat a large pan to medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt. Add the shrimp and cook them a couple minutes per side, until they are nice and pink throughout and cooked through.
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Whisk together the gochujang, honey and hot sauce. Pour into the pan and toss to coat the shrimp.
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Squeeze lemon juice over the top and sprinkle with hot pepper flakes. Serve!
Serves 4 for a small appetizer.
3 comments
Reply
How might one adapt the glaze recipe to use the more traditional and common paste form of gochujang instead of the sauce you reference? Thanks!
REPLY: Harry, the Gochujang I used was pretty thick, though you can thin it out a bit with a bit of water, broth, or soy sauce would be good here. You can also add in more of the hot sauce or honey to your preference. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
What is gochujand
REPLY: Betty, I discuss this in the actual post. “What is gochujang, you ask? Well! If you have not yet cooked with gochujang, I urge you to hurry out and grab yourself a bottle instantly. Gochujang is a fermented chili paste that is sort of similar to sriracha, only it is much less sweet than the American version and HUGE on flavor. I’ve tried several brands and each on is slightly different, though they’re all about the consistency of ketchup and darker in color.” — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
These shrimp look so good! and you can´t go wrong with Old Bay seasoning, love that touch of honey to the recipe