Thai Grilled Marinated Shrimp Recipe

I adore this Thai grilled marinated shrimp recipe because I just love that unique blend of sweetness and chili heat. This recipe comes with a stonkin' marinade and glaze that packs a real punch but if you prefer something quick and easy then my other Thai grilled shrimp recipe is probably a better place to start.

In addition to all the classic Thai flavours below I've substituted sugar for honey because I want this marinade to work as a glaze as well so that you can brush more on during the cooking process.

Shrimps cook so quickly so the glaze approach helps you really get that sweet flavor combined with the chili kick.

The quantities listed in this grilled marinated shrimp recipe will give you enough liquid for about 24 shrimp tails.

TIP - For the essentials on preparing shrimps and the cooking basics read my page how to grill shrimps.

So if you're on for some heat and sweet, get those skewers onto to soak.

Yield:- 5 tablespoons

Preparation Time:- 15 minutes
Marinade Time:- 1 hour
Cooking Time:- 5 minutes

Total Time:- 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients:-

2 dozen raw shrimp tails size 21/25 (peeled and veined)
1 finely chopped lemon-grass stalk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 inch cube ginger peeled & crushed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red chili, chopped (with seeds)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoon honey
1 Lime for garnish
Bunch of spring onions (scallions) for garnish

Method:-

Peel the ginger, roughly chop up and crush in a garlic press to collect the juice in your marinade bowl (discard any of the remaining dry pulp). Chopping the ginger up first is a good way to ensure that the juice ends up in your bowl, if you try crushing a cube of ginger you'll end up with most of it all over the kitchen and over you.

Now crush the garlic, add the remainder of the ingredients and mix well. Finally throw in the raw shrimp tails.

Marinate for around 30 minutes before threading the shrimp tails onto skewers. Any longer serves no purpose and could be detrimental to the final texture, for more details on this point, see my page about the science of barbecue marinades.

If using bamboo skewers then these will also need about 30 minutes soaking in water to ensure that they don't burn during the cooking.

Thread the shrimp tails onto the skewers so that the skewer penetrates each shrimp twice.

Grill the shrimps over hot coals until the grey translucent flesh has turned opaque white (with pink specs) then turn, brush with more of the marinade and cook the other side – the honey in the marinade will help form a sweet chilli coating.

Serve the skewer over salad leaves and with a wedge of lime and spring onion (scallion) shavings.