Homemade Shrimp Wraps? UH, Yes Please!
What this speedy, satisfying dinner lacks in carbs it more than makes up for in big big flavor—just the way we like it! Crisp, crunchy lettuce makes a light, fresh bed for absolutely the most flavorful shrimp we’ve possibly ever made. The soy sauce-based honey-garlic sauté sauce that the shrimp are cooked in—just that it’s essentially piled with every single one of our favorite flavors. Nutritious, ready in a flash, and the kind of thing you love so much you want to eat it every night—this shrimp wrap recipe is one for the books.
What’s Sticky Shrimp?
It’s what we call these juicy, plump, sauce-slicked shrimp! They’re coated in an insanely yummy sweet-savory-spicy sauce that hits all the spots, and because it has cornstarch, honey and brown sugar in it, it really does stick to the shrimp—it coats them in the best way. Yum. Here’s what you’ll need to make these delightfully sticky, speedy sautéed shrimp:
- Soy sauce or tamari
- Sesame oil
- Chili sauce, like sambal oelek
- Brown sugar
- Honey
- Fresh garlic and ginger
- Cornstarch
- Shrimp
What Is The Best Lettuce for Making Lettuce Wraps? Drumroll, Please!
We’ve covered this before, but what the heck—we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again! The very best lettuce on earth for making shrimp lettuce wraps is, hands down, butter lettuce! AKA bibb lettuce, AKA Boston bibb lettuce, this buttery, tender lettuce is ideal for making lettuce wraps because of its cupped shape and relative sturdiness. We also love that it has a nice flavor—no bitterness at all, just a nice mild sweetness to compliment the sticky shrimp.
How to Clean Shrimp
Time to get your hands dirty! Learning how to peel and devein shrimp can seem like a daunting task, but it’s really pretty simple. Also, it’s not technically necessary to devein your shrimp, so if you want to skip it, you can. The “vein” is the shrimp’s digestive tract, and it can have a little sand or grit in it sometimes, so we like to remove it.
- Defrost! Defrost your shrimp in a bowl of cold water in the fridge.
- Peel! Drain the shrimp. Begin to peel the shrimp by holding the shrimp in one hand and use your other hand to peel off the legs. Once the legs have been removed, you can take the shrimp shell off by peeling it, beginning from where you took off the legs.
- To keep the tail on—we like to leave the shrimp tail-on— just hold it firmly in place with one hand while you peel the shell of the body of the shrimp with your other hand.
- To remove the vein, hold the shrimp with the back side up. Use a sharp, small knife (like a paring knife) or a shrimp deveiner to make a shallow cut along the vein (the dark line that runs along the back of the shrimp). Once you've made the incision, use the tip of the knife to scrape out the vein.
- Done! Time to get cooking!
More Speedy Shrimp Recipes to Try!
Now that you’re a shrimp cleaning pro, you might be feeling emboldened to branch out and cook more shrimp! We’re all for that. Here are a few shrimp recipes we’ve been making a lot lately:
Tools You’ll Need:
- Large sauté pan
- Mixing bowls
- Salad spinner (helpful, but not a must)
Lettuce Wraps To The Rescue!
Try these shrimp lettuce wraps, and let us know how you like them, OK? Because we’re pretty convinced that you’re going to love them. Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
