Gambas al ajillo
Shrimp in garlic oil: eight minutes, five ingredients, and the garlic must absolutely not turn brown.
- Preparation
- 10 min
- Cook/bake time
- 8 min
- Total
- 18 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cooking & baking
- 8 min
Shrimp in garlic oil: eight minutes, five ingredients, and the garlic must absolutely not turn brown. This tapa is found in every Spanish bar and is served sizzling in a clay pot. What makes it special is not the shrimp, but the oil it sits in, which is why bread is absolutely essential.
Why this works
Garlic contains fructans and amino acids that brown at around 150 degrees and initially become nutty, then very quickly bitter. The window between golden yellow and burnt is only seconds wide for thin slices. That is why the garlic is started in **cold** oil and heated slowly with it. This way, it releases its fat-soluble sulfur compounds into the oil over several minutes without ever reaching the critical temperature range. Thrown into hot oil, it would be dark in twenty seconds and the whole dish bitter. For the same reason, it is sliced and not pressed. Pressed garlic has a multiple of the surface area and burns correspondingly faster. The shrimp then only need two minutes. Crustacean protein coagulates at around 60 degrees and becomes rubbery above that.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Salt the shrimp
Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry and salt them ten minutes before frying. The salt draws out surface water, which is then drawn back in. This keeps the shrimp juicier and they splatter less in the hot oil.
- 2
Start garlic in cold oil
Put oil, garlic slices and chili **together in the cold pan** and heat everything slowly over medium heat. The garlic should become light golden over three to four minutes, not brown. Thrown into hot oil, it is bitter in twenty seconds.
- 3
Shrimp for two minutes
Turn the heat up and add the shrimp. One minute per side is enough. As soon as they curl and become opaque, they are done. Fried longer, they become rubbery, and that cannot be undone.
- 4
Deglaze and serve
Deglaze with the white wine, toss everything once and sprinkle the parsley over it. Serve immediately in the pan on the table, with plenty of white bread. The garlic oil is the real prize of this dish and must not be left in the pan.
Our best tips
- Garlic in cold oil. It is the only trick to this dish, and it decides between nutty and bitter.
- Slice garlic, do not press it. Pressed garlic has a multiple of the surface area and burns before it can release its aroma.
- Plenty of bread with it. In Spain, the oil is mopped up with bread, and anyone who clears the pan with oil in it has thrown half away.
Tasty variations
With shrimp in the shell
Unpeeled shrimp produce a significantly more aromatic oil because flavor escapes from the shell and head. But you have to peel them at the table, which is the norm in Spain.
With mushrooms
Instead of shrimp, use 500 g mushrooms, otherwise identical. As Setas al ajillo, a common vegetarian tapa.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 390 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| – of which sugar | 0 g |
| Fat | 28 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
Where the 390 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my garlic get bitter?
It went into hot oil. Garlic browns from about 150 degrees and becomes bitter within seconds. It belongs in cold oil, which is slowly heated together with it. Then it releases aroma over minutes without burning.
How many calories do Gambas al ajillo have?
Around 390 kcal per serving. Almost all of it comes from the olive oil. The shrimp themselves are extremely lean at about 80 kcal per serving. Less oil is possible, but then you miss what you mop up.
Fresh or frozen shrimp?
Frozen, raw and peeled, are completely sufficient for this dish and usually fresher than the thawed goods at the counter. The only important thing is to thaw them completely and pat them thoroughly dry.
How do I know when shrimp are done?
They curl into a loose C and become opaque. A tight O means they are already overcooked. From then on, they become more rubbery with every second.
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