Whenever dinner has the word “fried” in it, my Southern husband is a happy man. And can you blame him? Hot, crunchy, flavorful, deliciousness… This simple recipe is actually always popular with my whole family, kids included. Thankfully, it is also very easy to put together.
Seriously, the hardest part is thawing and peeling the shrimp, if yours is frozen and peel-on as mine was. So do that.
Seasonings! If you like salty fried food, go for more like a teaspoon of salt. If you do not, aim for 3/4 of a teaspoon in your seasoning mix. We also have paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper. Fun fact: people with certain treenut allergies can’t eat pink peppercorns which are actually related to cashews. So there’s something you know now. But here are my lovely looking spices.
Combine those thoroughly with a half cup of all purpose flour and toss the whole thing in with your thawed and peeled shrimp.
Ok, so raw shrimp doesn’t look very pretty but I promise it will look better later. I like to let this sit for a few minutes. The flour starts to absorb some of the moisture from the shrimp and makes sort of a batter-like coating that sticks better to the shrimp, in my opinion. So let it sit while you heat your oil on medium-high.
Pan-frying uses more oil than sauteing but less than deep frying. Whichn if you recall, deep frying is something I don’t like to do. Cause it’s messy. And I don’t like mess. But I did have kids. I know it doesn’t make any sense… But you’ll probably never see a deep fried anything recipe from me, in any case.
So for pan-frying, your oil level should come to below halfway up whatever food you are cooking as you do not want your food submerged for this cooking method. Mine was about 1/3 of an inch deep.
You can test if your oil is ready a few ways. You can take a clump of breading from your bowl and see if it sizzles in your pan. You can carefully put a DROP or two of water in your pan, but be aware that it will splatter. Or, you can go ahead and put a shrimp in the pan when you think it is probably hot enough. If it sizzles lightly right away, you’re good. If not just watch your sacrifice shrimp until it sizzles and then cook it like normal. So once your oil is ready, add a batch of shrimp to your pan. Avoid adding too many at a time so that you can keep your oil temperature from dropping too much as you add your shrimp.
Cook for a few minutes and then flip them over for another few minutes.
Your shrimp should curl up, turn pink, and look opaque. If it is browning too quickly, turn your heat down slightly. When they are done, remove them to a paper towel or kitchen towel lined plate. Or if you don’t use paper towels and don’t want to waste a clean kitchen towel on grease, like me, remove to an unlined plate.
Cook the remaining shrimp in batches. Don’t forget to remove your oil from the heat when you’re done. Then you eat it! Mine is served with garlic fried rice, arugula salad, roasted tomato, and cocktail sauce.
Easy and delicious. There are lots of ways to serve this recipe. In a sandwich, on top of salad, with potato wedges… however you choose, I hope you enjoy it!
Pan-Fried Shrimp
Fast and delicious! Crunchy and tasty shrimp
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. thawed and peeled uncooked shrimp
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4-1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Oil, for frying
Directions
- Combine flour and seasonings; use less salt if you prefer less salty fried shrimp and more if you prefer it saltier
- Toss shrimp and flour mixture together; allow to sit for a few minutes before cooking
- Heat oil about 1/3 inch deep over medium-high heat
- Place a batch of shrimp in pan without overcrowding; cook for about 3 minutes
- Flip over and cook for about 3 more minutes until shrimp are opaque, pink, and curled up; if shrimp are overbrowning, reduce heat as needed
- Remove to a paper towel or kitchen towel lined plate; cook remaining shrimp
*Note: make sure you are familiar with how to safely cook with larger quantities of oil. Never use water to extinguish an oil fire!*
Lavender, Lemon, and Sage 
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