Chili Butter Head On Shrimp

This head-on shrimp baked with butter and chili paste is incredibly delicious and super easy to make. You’ll have dinner ready in under 20 minutes!

If head-on shrimp scare you, don’t let them! They are really easy to cook at home, and they taste incredible, thanks to the shells being left on. As shrimp cook in their shells, they take on even more of a rich, shrimpy flavor, which is why seafood lovers so highly covet head-on shrimp.

Our recipe calls for baking the shrimp in a simple mixture of melted butter, soy sauce, chili paste, and sesame oil. For more shrimp recipes, see our Cajun shrimp with homemade Cajun butter, these cilantro lime shrimp, and my favorite shrimp salad.

Key Ingredients

• Shrimp: If you can find them, use fresh extra-large head-on shrimp (or prawns). If not, use fresh or thawed shrimp without the head.
• Butter: I use salted butter, but unsalted is fine. If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to the mixture.
• Soy Sauce: I use light soy sauce or light tamari. It adds a little funkiness and seasoning.
• Chili Paste: I love Sambal Oelek. It’s made with crushed raw red chiles, a little vinegar, and salt. It’s sold in most grocery stores. Check the grocery aisle where you’d buy soy sauce, and it should be there. If you can’t find it, Sriracha or Gochujang are good alternatives. I also use sambal oelek when making our spicy garlic ginger edamame.
• Sesame Oil: I love the flavor of toasted sesame oil. You only need a little bit. It just makes the shrimp more interesting. If you do not have it on hand, you can leave it out.

How to Make Chili Butter Head On Shrimp

This head-on shrimp recipe is ridiculously easy, especially considering how impressive these shrimp look on a table! I suggested that our recipe calls for a pound of shrimp serves two, but that’s as a dinner portion. These also make an incredible appetizer for entertaining or parties!

First, you’ll mix melted butter with soy sauce, chili paste, and sesame oil, then toss that with your shrimp. You might find that the butter starts to solidify again (especially if your shrimp are straight from the fridge). Don’t worry too much about it, and spread the shrimp onto a baking sheet.

We want to bake our shrimp quickly, so I like to use a high oven temperature, like 400°F. At this temperature, the shrimp will take around 8 minutes. You’ll know when they are done when the shells look bright red and the shrimp feel firm. From there, serve them quickly as they continue to steam in their shells.

To eat head-on shrimp, I pull off the heads and suck the juices from inside (it’s really tasty), then I peel the shrimp as usual and eat them as I do peel and eat shrimp.