Korean Garlic Butter Shrimp (Printable Version)

Succulent shrimp cooked in a rich garlic butter sauce with spicy Korean chili flakes and savory accents.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

→ Sauce

02 - 3 tbsp unsalted butter
03 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
05 - 1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free optional)
06 - 1 tbsp honey
07 - 1 tsp sesame oil

→ Garnish

08 - 2 tbsp chopped scallions
09 - 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
10 - Lemon wedges, optional

# How To Make It:

01 - Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and set aside.
02 - Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter.
03 - Add minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute until fragrant but not browned.
04 - Stir in gochugaru, soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil; cook for 30 seconds to blend flavors.
05 - Place shrimp in a single layer in the skillet and cook 2–3 minutes per side until pink and opaque.
06 - Toss shrimp gently to coat thoroughly in the sauce, then remove from heat.
07 - Transfer shrimp to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds; serve immediately with lemon wedges if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's ready in 18 minutes, which means you can go from craving shrimp to eating it faster than delivery would arrive.
  • The sauce is so good you'll find yourself scraping the skillet with bread, and nobody will judge you for it.
  • It tastes like you spent hours on it, but the secret is just letting good ingredients do their thing.
02 -
  • Overcooking shrimp by even a minute transforms them from tender to rubbery, so watch the clock and trust the color change as your timer.
  • Gochugaru has a completely different character than red pepper flakes—it's fruitier and slightly smoky, so don't assume they're interchangeable.
  • The sauce is thin when you're cooking but it clings to the shrimp beautifully, so don't think you've made a mistake if it looks like it's missing something.
03 -
  • Buy shrimp that's been frozen and thawed rather than fresh, because frozen shrimp are often fresher—they're frozen immediately after catching, while 'fresh' has traveled for days.
  • If you can't find gochugaru, make a spice blend of equal parts paprika and cayenne pepper with a pinch of brown sugar, though you'll lose some of that fruity complexity.
  • Toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan for 30 seconds before garnishing to unlock their nutty flavor and make them taste like they belong to something special.
Return