If you are looking for a delicious, fancy appetizer for your next gathering then this recipe is just what you need. This is my go to appetizer recipe whenever I am hosting a special event. The first time I made this appetizer was for my housewarming party. It was a hit and it was gone within minutes. Not only does it look amazing and fancy, this appetizer is packed with flavors. The best part is this appetizer is easy to make and very customizable. The refreshing cucumber combined with the garlic sriracha shrimp and cream cheese makes this appetizer very addictive.
So, let's get into the recipe! For this amazing recipe there are few ingredients you will need. This recipe will make about 30 to 45 pieces of appetizer and will be best for parties or gathering of up to 10 people. If you are making this appetizer for a bigger crowd you can always adjust the recipe accordingly. The list and amount of all the ingredients you will need is given below.
Ingredients:
12 oz Shrimp (medium to large size)
1 tbsp of Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp of Butter
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp of Ground Black Pepper
1 tbsp of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
1 tbsp of Minced Fresh Garlic
2 tbsp of Cilantro (finely chopped and slit into 2 portions)
1 tbsp of Green Onion (finely chopped)
2 Medium Cucumbers (Cut into 1/4" slices )
1/2 tsp of Himalayan Pink Salt / Regular salt
8 oz Cream Cheese
Instruction:
We will start by preparing the ingredients. First of all, clean and rinse the shrimp. I prefer using uncooked, peeled, and tail-on shrimp for this appetizer but I only had the shell on shrimp at home so I just used them. You could use cooked, peeled, and tail on shrimp for this but the flavor is much better if you use the uncooked shrimp and also the texture of the shrimp is much better as well. I used a 12oz pack of Aldi's Raw EZ peel medium shrimp, this pack usually contains about 30-45 shrimp.
Then take about 4 to 5 cloves of fresh garlic and mince them. For the ease of measurement you will need about 1tbsp of minced garlic. I used a garlic press, which makes the task way faster and easier but you can also mince them by hand. You can also use minced garlic from the store, which is readily available at any grocery stores but I really recommend you use freshly minced garlic. The kind of minced garlic you use makes a huge difference in the flavor.
Next, finely chop the cilantro and the green onions. We want them to be as fine as possible as we will be mixing them in the cream cheese mixture, and if the veggies are too chunky it will take away the creamy smooth texture of the cream cheese mixture.
We will be dividing the chopped cilantro into 2 equal parts. One part we will use for the cream cheese mixture and the other we will use for garnishing later on.
Prepare the cucumbers by thoroughly rinsing them. If you want to keep the skin on the cucumber, you can use some salt to scrub and clean the cucumber. Make sure to raise it if you are using salt to clean the cucumber.
You can either peel it completely or use it unpeeled, it's totally up to you. I prefer partially peeling them for a fancy more decorative look.
Once you have decided if you want the cucumber to be peeled or not, go ahead and slice them into about 1/4" slices. Now the thickness of the slices are totally customizable according to your preference but I find this thickness to be perfect for a bite size snack. This thickness also makes it much easier and hassle free to eat.
Now let's prepare the cream cheese mixture. Start with a block of cream cheese, usually they come in 8oz packs. You will need a spoon or spatula to make the mixture. You can also use an electric hand mixer to initially mix the cream cheese but I prefer using a silicone spatula. To make it easier to follow the instructions, I have listed them step by step below.
Cream Cheese mixture:
Step 1)
Cream cheese can be pretty stiff if it is just taken out of the refrigerator which makes it harder to mix into a smooth cream. To make it easier to mix we need to soften the cream cheese before we start mixing the mixture. There are two simple ways you can soften the cream cheese, you can take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for few hours before you start making the mixture or you can microwave the cream cheese for about 15 seconds (this is my favorite method) or in increments of 10 seconds until softened enough to easily spread.
Step 2)
Add the salt, now remember we are only using about 1/4 tsp of salt here, which is half the amount I listed in the ingredient list above, the rest will be use for the shrimp. Now give it a good mix before adding in the rest of the ingredients.
Step 3)
Add the finely chopped green onion and cilantro, 1tbsp each to the cream cheese mixture and mix it well. That's it for the cream cheese mixture, we are keeping it very simple as we will be adding tons of flavors to the shrimp.
Step 4)
Transfer the cream cheese mixture into a piping bag (or a resealable bag) with a piping tip (though we have close star piping tip in the picture below but we recommend the round plain piping tip or open star piping tip). If you don't have a piping tip don't worry, you can just cut a small hole by one of the bottom corners of the resealable bag and pipe the cream cheese mixture that way.
Step 5)
Arrange the cucumber slices on a large serving tray or plate. This part is super fun for me. You can be as creative as you want with the styling and arrangement of your appetizer.
Step 6)
Pipe the cream cheese mixture on top of the cucumber slices. I like covering as much of the cucumber slice as possible with the cream cheese, this way you get an even distribution and who doesn't like more cream cheese.
Step 7)
Sprinkle the leftover cilantro (1 tbsp) on top, I love cilantro so I like to go a little heavy handed on it. Now refrigerate the cucumbers for about 20 min or until you are done cooking the shrimp. This will help the cream cheese to become firm and hold the shape, specially during warmer seasons this will prevent the cream cheese from melting and spilling off the cucumber slice. In addition, this will also give the cucumber a nice cool and refreshing taste.
Now let's move on to cooking the shrimp. We will be cooking the shrimp on medium to high heat. Have all your ingredients prepared and near you as the shrimp cooks pretty fast.
Cooking the Shrimp:
Step 1)
Add the oil and butter into a frying pan. You can substitute the butter with another tablespoon of oil but I really recommend you use the butter. The butter will bring amazing flavor to the shrimp.
Step 2)
Once the oil and butter gets hot, add the minced garlic and cook until golden brown.
Step 3)
Once the garlic is golden brown, add the shrimp and cook on medium heat for 1 minute.
Step 4)
Now add the onion powder and ground black pepper to the shrimp and give it a stir.
Step 5)
Add 1/4 tsp salt and cook the shrimp for another 2 minutes, stir occasionally.
Step 6)
Next add the sriracha hot chili sauce and cook the shrimp for another 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked. If you don't like spicy food, you could skip this step but I will warn you, you will be missing out on a delicious flavor. The mixture of butter, garlic, black pepper, onion powder and sriracha sauce makes this dish extra special. Now set the shrimp aside until it's cool enough to handle.
Assembling:
Once the shrimp is cool enough to handle, take the cucumber slices out of the refrigerator. Place one shrimp on top of each of the cucumber slices (1 shrimp per cucumber slice) and your delicious appetizer is ready to serve.
Tip:
Don't throw away the cucumber peels. You can roll them and turn them into beautiful roses. Use these roses to decorate your appetizer tray. This will bring your presentation to a whole new level.
This appetizer will definitely be a crowd pleaser. This is definitely a favorite in my household. If you try this recipe, leave a comment below with your feedback. Also we will love to see your recreation pictures. Follow us on Instagram and tag us @chueandrimi.
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Thank you!
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