Shrimp, Garlic and Butter – Turkish Style! (Tereyağlı Karides)
Forget shrimp scampi! You need to try sauteed shrimp – Turkish style! Turkish crushed red pepper and lots of butter lift this dish above the rest!
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Chances are you love shrimp. If so, then you almost certainly love “shrimp scampi.” The combination of butter, garlic and shrimp is a cosmic culinary fist-bump that pummels your taste buds with shock waves of awesome. It is so fantastic, that its creator decided that using the word “shrimp” just once wasn’t enough, so he (or she) tossed in the Italian variant, “scampi.” I think he (or she!) could have gotten away with “shrimp shrimp.” It’s that good.
But what if I told you there was a way to make shrimp shrimp even better? The Turks know the secret. They’ve known it for centuries. I discovered it when Handan and I spent a few months in her hometown of Izmir back in 2010. We used to have drinks at the outdoor bar of a restaurant on the shores of the Aegean Sea near our house. When we got hungry, we’d order tereyağlı karides. It came in a small cast iron skillet (it is also often served in small earthenware crocks) with fresh-baked bread to mop up all the melted butter. So what is the secret? It’s so simple. First, use more butter. Obviously, anything with more butter is better. A little olive oil added to the butter helps to keep things from getting out of hand. Second, add Turkish crushed red pepper, or pul biber. Though it may look somewhat similar to Italian red pepper flakes, the two are nothing alike. Pul biber is made from the Aleppo pepper, a varietal first cultivated in Aleppo, Syria, near the Turkish border. It is sweeter and milder with an altogether different flavor than Italian crushed red pepper. You’re going to need some for this recipe, and if you don’t live near a specialty Turkish or Persian or Middle Eastern market, you can order pul biber from Amazon
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It also helps to have individual cast iron skillets – one for each person, though this is certainly not a requirement. Lodge makes a great one – I have six of them! Here is the link, in case you are interested
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Okay, let’s get to it. Printer-friendly recipe at the end of the post.
Sauteed shrimp – Turkish Style! (Tereyağlı Karides)
Ingredients (listed per person, for each skillet)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon pul biber (depends on how spicy you like it)
- 1 clove garlic, very thinly sliced
- 10 smallish shrimp, peeled and deveined
- a few pinches of dried or minced fresh parsley
Method
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add butter.
Pour in the olive oil. No one will haul you off to jail if you use a little more than one tablespoon.
When the butter is melted and bubbling, add the pul biber.
Sauté the pul biber for about two minutes. Adjust heat down to medium low if the butter seems like it wants to burn. The reason we sauté the pepper first is to extract some of its red color into the butter.
Add the sliced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the shrimp one-by-one in a single layer. Cook shrimp for about one minute on each side. Season with more pul biber, if desired, and sprinkle a few pinches of parsley over the shrimp.
Serve immediately in the skillet with lots of crusty bread. Afiyet olsun!
Shrimp, Garlic and Butter – Turkish Style! (Tereyağlı Karides)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon pul biber - depends on how spicy you like it
- 1 clove garlic - very thinly sliced
- 10 smallish shrimp - peeled and deveined
- a few pinches of dried or minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat skillet over medium heat. Add butter.
- Pour in the olive oil. No one will haul you off to jail if you use a little more than one tablespoon.
- When the butter is melted and bubbling, add the pul biber.
- Sauté the pul biber for about two minutes. Adjust heat down to medium low if the butter seems like it wants to burn. The reason we sauté the pepper first is to extract some of its red color into the butter.
- Add the sliced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the shrimp one-by-one in a single layer. Cook shrimp for about one minute on each side. Season with more pul biber, if desired, and sprinkle a few pinches of parsley over the shrimp.
- Serve immediately in the skillet with lots of crusty bread. Afiyet olsun!
We will need to double that recipe for our group here at the cottage, it looks fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you, Helen! If there is one dish that takes me back to Izmir on the Aegean Sea, this is it! So simple and satisfying. -Greg
Hello Greg,
I would like to know when is shrimp season in Turkey as I live here with my wife in the Aegean
region of Turkey.
thank in advance,
Michael
Hi Michael, Handan says that shrimp are available year-round, but they are much cheaper during the summer months. Where do you live?
This looks incredible! I have to try it! Thanks for sharing on the “What’s for Dinner” Link up!
This looks AMAZING! We just discovered a love for Turkish food after we found a Turkish restaurant near us – this looks so easy to make as a first Turkish dish!
Thank you, Morgan! It’s so easy to make. I encourage you to try this dish next – it’s a beef and chick pea stew, and it is just so simple and good! https://www.thenavagepatch.com/turkish-chick-pea-stew-etli-nohut/
There are so many Turkish recipes I’ve been making…I need to get them up on the site, but I tend to get lazy with recipe posts, because I never measure ingredients, and recipe posts kinda require that, lol! Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!
I love that little skillet. It is perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Candace!
Oh, yum! This dish looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Cristina!
This shrimp dish looks sooo mouthwateringly wonderful! Pinned, and can’t wait to try this–I’m a huge fan of buttery and spicy shrimp dishes!
–G
http://gingerwroot.com
Thank you, GW! 🙂
Looks very tasty! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday! Pinned to share!
Thank you, Laurie!
Oh My !!! What a great dish!! I can’t wait to try it!! I will be featuring this dish tomorrow!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday! Hope to see you again tomorrow!! Pinned!
Thank you, Elaine! 🙂
I have cooked it in a similar way , by adding a bit of lime juice at the end and using Cilantro instead of parsley , and for the head very finely diced scotch Bonnet Pepper or a Habernero, saute in the butter and coconut oil. Coming from the Caribbean we use lots of fresh hot peppers and lime. My husband on the other hand does it your style , using regular crushed pepper. very little as he is not a heat lover like me. But we will order the Pul Biber from Amazon and try it . I am sure it works in many other dishes .. Smile
Ahhhh, cilantro, lime and hot peppers…you’re speaking my language, Ninette! 🙂
Elinize sağlık!
I miss fresh Aegean seafood (ok, all Turkish food!)…. especially my mother-in-laws baklava!!
Thank you so much for sharing this!
[My sister-in-law is in Izmir]
What is typically served as a side dish to this scrumptious sounding dish?
The way we always eat it is with some good, crusty bread and maybe some other fish side dishes like calamari. Turks eat every meal with lots of different salads. Three come to mind that I would eat with shrimp:
1) a salad that translates to “spoon salad,” which is finely chopped tomatoes, onions, parsley, dill, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
2 haydari – a “salad” that’s more like a dip – thick yogurt, minced, garlic, chopped parsley, dill, mint, olive oil and salt.
3 carrot salad – (great with all fish) – a mix of shredded sweet carrots, lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Hey Greg..just now reading this..and it sounds wonderful. I am confused about how to cook. You say 10 shrimp,then individual skillets. So,do you cook one serving at a time? I can eat at least 10. Or maybe 7 or 8 if I am feeling like a lady. So if you have several people..how do you cook for everyone? ?? and do you grab a few for yourself as you are coking? I would! Thanks…
Hi Bernice – I usually make it for just Handan, Barish and myself, and I cook three of them simultaneously on three burners. I suppose if doing it for a large group, you could make it in a big skillet and serve it with a loaf of crusty bread. And Bernice, one of the great benefits of being the chef is that you’re allowed to pilfer as many goodies as you want while cooking and pass it off as “tasting for quality.” 😀
The aleppo pepper is magic! Such a yummy heat. I’m wondering how I managed without them for so many years!
I know – it’s the best! Subtle heat and amazing flavor!
I would like to thank you for this recipe. I made the prawns last night for my Turkish partner and I and it was delicious. Just like the dish eaten many times in Fethiye.
I am so happy to hear that, Katy! I do pride myself on making authentic Turkish cuisine. Their food is so good, and it deserves a much wider audience! Happy New Year to you and your partner!