Rice with Shrimp Scampi

Whenever I go to a seafood restaurant or Italian restaurant, I look for shrimp scampi in the menu. Most of the time, I am disappointed to see “Linguine with Shrimp Scampi” or some kinds of pasta with shrimp scampi. Shrimp scampi must come with rice.

In the early 1990’s, my younger sister, Risa, moved to Long Island in New York to study for a few years in college. During that time, I visited her and she took me to her favorite seafood restaurant in Port Jefferson on Long Island. It was a cozy local seafood restaurant facing the port and surrounded by small cute souvenir shops.

Risa suggested to me to have her favorite dish; rice with shrimp scampi. I followed her advice. The moment the waitress brought the dish, I knew it was an excellent choice. The aroma of the shrimp and garlic made me crazy. The flavor of butter, garlic and rice brought out the delicate taste of the shrimps. That was a perfect combination for a shrimp dish.

After Risa came back from New York, I moved to New York to pursue my study in collage. Then Risa visited me and we decided to go to the restaurant in Port Jefferson, hoping to get the delicious dish, rice with shrimp scampi. However, the restaurant seemed totally different. The prices, inner and outer interiors were scaled up. Sadly rice with shrimp scampi was replace by spaghetti with shrimp scampi in the new menu. Furthermore, the taste of shrimp scampi was downgraded.

Since Louisiana shrimps are famous for their big size and fine flavor, I decided to try my dream dish, rice with shrimp scampi. I prefer to use shrimps with their heads and shells on, which gives me incredible flavor and a beautiful saffron-like color. However, if getting your fingers dirty while you are eating is not very appealing to you, use peeled and deveined shrimps. Nevertheless, they are still superb. I usually hesitate to use butter in cooking. However, butter is essential for this dish.

Rice with Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Ingredients (4 servings):

Shrimp Scampi
2 lb shrimps with their heads and shells on
1 cup finely chopped green onions
¼ cup chopped dill
3-4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1 cup white wine
3 tbsp butter
2 lemons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pilaf (Butter Fired Rice)
2 cups rice
3 tbsp butter
2-3 cups water
Salt

Directions:
1. Wash the shrimps well and cut off their whiskers. Salt them.
2. Heat the 3tbsp of butter and the garlic in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shrimps and chopped green onions and fry them evenly for 2-3 minutes until the shrimps become pinkish. Add the white wine and lemon juice. Season them with salt and black pepper and simmer them for 2-3 minutes.
3. Transfer the shrimps into a plate and keep them aside.
4. Wash the rice well.
5. Using the same pan, heat the 3tbsp of butter and place the rice. Fry them for about 3 minutes. Add the water and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat and continue to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the water is absorbed.
6. Add the shrimp scampi into the pilaf (butter fried rice) and stir them well.
7. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the chopped dill.