Cooking 4 Life: Light Lemon Shrimp Scampi Inspired Dinner

The beauty of a home cooked meal, is that you can tweak any recipe to fit your needs.  For many families, this means trying to cook delicious, but healthy, food.  Beyond just eating a delicious meal, there’s something about how a home takes on the smell, and almost the taste, of what you’re cooking.

The thing I love about this recipe is how it makes an entire home smell.  The lemon and parsley quickly perfume the air, sure to bring your family to the table.  However, despite the complex flavors that build upon each other, the entire meal can be cooked in less than 15 minutes. 

Why Is This A Healthy Version Of Shrimp Scampi?

Most scampi dishes involve large amounts of butter and wine.  However, to create a simple, healthier option, we’ve done away with both.  While it won’t taste exactly like a scampi dish, you will be amazed at how delicious this recipe is. So, without further ado, here's our 7th Cooking4Life recipe.

Lemon Parsley Shrimp With A Secret

The key to this recipe is getting the base right.  You’ll need several lemons (depending on how much you’re cooking, you need at least 1 lemon per person).  Add the lemon juice to a wok and raise to a medium high heat.  Mix in fresh chopped (roughly chopped) garlic and let cook.  Next add the parsley to the wok (don’t use the stems).  After the parsley has wilted, it’s ready for the shrimp.  Depending on what kind of shrimp you’re using (some use U shrimp from Hawaii, others purchase per cooked shrimp) the cooking time will vary.  After adding the shrimp, you should sprinkle the shrimp with soy sauce or Worchester sauce (I hate to use the phrase, “trust me,” but trust me).

However, the important thing is to keep the shrimp constantly moving around the wok.  As they continue to cook, they will meld with the other flavors in your wok.  Many add this shrimp to vegetables, rice, or pasta.  Others flour the shrimp before cooking (making it a bit less healthy), and some are determined to use butter.  As always, we want you to experiment with these recipes and see what work for you. What’s your favorite breakfast food? What’s your cooking horror story? Past Cooking4Life

if you want to cook a traditional shrimp scampi, below is a great how-to video