One of my favorite shrimp scampi recipes is Hawaiian shrimp scampi, made famous by the Giovanni’s shrimp truck at Kahuku, in the north shore of Oahu island.
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If you have been to Hawaii, it’s very likely that you have tried the legendary shrimp. It’s top of the list as a must-eat when you are in Oahu.
My Hawaiian shrimp scampi recipe is loosely adapted from this recipe.
Many of my friends have tried and tested my recipe and all gave me their thumbs up. .They taste very close to Giovanni’s version. It’s utterly delicious and best served with some cold beer. Enjoy!
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This recipe is only 557 calories per serving.
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Hawaiian Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Hawaiian Shrimp Scampi - garlic butter sauteed shrimp with lemon juice and white wine. This Hawaiian shrimp scampi recipe is so good!
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp, headless, shell-on, tail-on, deveined
- 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 oz unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
- 1 squirt lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- 1
Clean and rinse the shrimp and deveined. Pat dry with paper towels.
- 2
Mix the flour and the cayenne pepper together in a big bowl. Add the shrimp to the bowl, toss a few times to coat lightly with the flour mixture.
- 3
Heat up a saute pan and add the butter. When the butter melts, add the olive oil. Stir in the garlic, lightly saute until aromatic before adding the shrimp into the pan. Saute the shrimp and then add the white wine, salt, sugar, and fish sauce (if using). Continue to stir until the shrimp is cooked through. Add a squirt or two of the lemon juice and the black pepper. Stir to combine well and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Fish sauce is optional but it adds umami flavor to the dish. If you don't use it, just add more salt to taste.
Selina
We just came back from Hawaii and the family wants shrimp scampi from the truck at home. We will try your recipe. What green stuff did you garnish with? Green onions? Parsley? Cilantro?
Emma
Can I not use white wine, it’s available but it’s a 2 hours drive to where it is.
Rasa Malaysia
You can skip it.
Emily
Can I not use white wine, it’s available but it’s a 2 hours drive to where it is.
Melanie
My daughter makes her own version of the garlic and hot shrimp. She uses rice flour, coconut milk. No wine or beer. Otherwise pretty much the same recipe. Awesome. Last night we inadvertently used shelled shrimp and it was good but using shell on (devained, easy peel variety) make them extra yummy.
Kyeshia
Hello is the flour necessary or can I omit that. Have someone who cant eat gluten.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you can skip!
Steve-OH
Have made this several times, the family loves it!
In fact, voted better then the Giovannis truck by my in-laws.
Began playing with the recipe. Tonight I added ginger in place of half the garlic.
More wine and flower to increase the sauce, tossed it with past and …a new star is born!
Thanks for the great recipe and the inspiration to make it my own.
From the rainy SF Bay!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Steve, thanks for sharing your tips! I am so glad that you in-laws said mine are beter than Giovanni’s. Maybe I should start a shrimp truck.
abhra ghosh
DELICIOUS
Erin
I made this awesome recipe inside last time and it was such a hit! However, I want to make this for my parents tonight but it’s going to be 95 degrees here today, yikes. Do you think it’s possible to use a cookie shit outside on the grill this time? Or just suck it up and get my kitchen hot? Thanks again for this recipe!
Rasa Malaysia
You can try.
Pomai
Aloha Rasa,
So interesting that you added Fish Sauce into the recipe, as when I tried Giovanni’s Shrimp Scampi this past weekend for the first time (and I’ve lived on Oahu my entire life), I KNEW there was some kind of “umami” factor going on, thinking it was Parmesan Cheese giving it that “oomph”. What brand or style of fish sauce do you recommend using for the Giovanni’s Shrimp Scampi knock-off recipe? Thai Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)? Filipino (Patis)? Other?
Also good to know it’s coated in flour, as I could also tell there as extra crunch and adhesion of the garlic butter sauce thanks to that flour coating. As for mixing Ceyenne pepper into the flour, to be honest, I didn’t taste ANYTHING spicy in Giovanni’s Shrimp Scampi, and I have a very sensitive tongue for spicy food. If there is Ceyenne Pepper in Giovanni’s flour mixture, it’s very little.
I’ve left several links and references to your post and recipe here on my food blog over at Tasty Island Hawaii (dot com).
Mahalo!
Pomai
The Tasty Island
Honolulu Food Blog
Rasa Malaysia
Pomai, thanks for your comment. I was eating both the spicy version and non-spicy version so I couldn’t really tell on whether or not there was spices. But I love cayenne pepper. For Fish Sauce, use Vietnamese fish sauce, for example: Red Boat or Magic Chef.
Josie
I have tried this recipe and it was perfectly made as it was I tasted it in Kauai. I have been trying to find these recipe for a long time and at last someone shared this recipe. Thank you soo much.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Josie, thanks so much for trying my recipe. So glad that you like my recipe.