Portuguese garlic shrimp (Camarão à Guilho)

This is my weeknight version of camarão à guilho — the wine-and-paprika take on Portugal’s garlicky shrimp. Where the classic keeps things ascetic (garlic, oil, lemon), this one deglazes the pan with white wine and warms the sauce with paprika, building something a little rounder and even more bread-worthy.

If you want the purist original, my classic camarão à guilho recipe is on the site. Both share the same golden rule: prep everything first, because the whole dish happens in under ten minutes of actual cooking.

Plump shrimp, sliced garlic toasted golden, a chili for spark, wine bubbling into the oil — then lemon and parsley off the heat. Serve it in the skillet, with bread for the sauce. There will be competition for the sauce.

Portuguese Garlic Shrimp Recipe (with Wine and Paprika)

Prep time: 10 minutes · Cook time: 10 minutes · Total: 20 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~166 per serving

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 tablespoons olive oil — use the good bottle
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon paprika (sweet or smoked)
• 1 small red chili, finely chopped (or a pinch of chili flakes)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the garlic and chili until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes — watch it closely.
3. Stir in the paprika for a few seconds, then raise the heat to medium-high.
4. Add the shrimp and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until pink and just cooked through.
5. Pour in the wine to deglaze and let it bubble and reduce for a couple of minutes.
6. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Taste and adjust.
7. Serve straight from the skillet with lemon wedges — and bread for every last drop.

Recipe Notes

• Shell-on shrimp make an even richer sauce, at the cost of messier (happier) fingers.
• Smoked paprika pushes it Spanish; sweet paprika keeps it Portuguese.
• A vinho verde alongside is practically constitutional.