Brother Devil and the Fresh Shrimp

This is a simple tale with a very happy ending.  I'm on a perpetual quest for the best sources for raw food.  I came to learn a long time ago that the premise of all under one roof doesn't exist.  I mean, should it?  I have multiple sources for produce, meat, grocery, and fish, but last year when I discovered the Korean supermarket H Mart.........WOW.  The seafood department there just blew me away.  Salt water tanks of live fish, an ice counter with whole fish, fileted fish, sushi and sashimi products, all this stuff to work with right here, it was amazing.  But my favorite to this day is still the shrimp counter.  Amazingly fresh shrimp that, I'm not 100% certain, but I believe have not been frozen, but best of all, they're head on!  Gross you say?!  Big deal, you say?!  You'd better believe it.  Crustaceans like shrimp, langostines, and crayfish store fat in their heads.  It is sweet and delicious and shellfish aficionados know to pull that head off and suck the fat out of it.


Yesterday as I went into H Mart, I planned to pick up some of these great tasting little critters and turn them into an Italian/American traditional dish, Shrimp Fra Diavolo.  Fra Diavolo literally means Brother Devil but in food terms it means shellfish cooked in a spicy tomato sauce usually over pasta.  As luck would have it the shrimp were on sale for $3.49lb, an absolutely ridiculous price.  I picked up a pound and brought them home.
It is a little tedious to peel the shrimp and remove the tails and still keep the head intact, but again it is so worth it.

1lb. of 30/40ct. head on shrimp shells peeled and tailed removed

Then I marinated the little guys in a little extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of Huy Fong Chili Garlic Paste.  I like to use this because it adds a different element of heat and it also has some sweetness to it which offsets the spice and keeps you coming back for more.

I let those marinate for about an hour and started the sauce.  At the same time I bring a 5qt. pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.  In this case I used a pound of spaghetti.

4oz. of extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced thick
1/2 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes

I omit any salt at this point because the chili garlic paste has a fair amount of salt and I'll use the salted pasta water to finish the sauce, so if any adjustment needs to be made, I'll do it at the end of the cooking.

Saute' the garlic and pepper slowly in a covered deep saute' pan until the garlic turns golden.

Drop the pasta.  If the suggested cooking time is 9 minutes, boil it for 7 minutes, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.

Add in the marinated shrimp and raise the heat to high.  Saute' until the shrimp just turn pink.

Remove the shrimp from the pan and add:

2oz. of dry white wine

Let the wine boil for a few seconds and add:

1 28oz. can crushed plum tomatoes.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and get ready:

6-8 large fresh basil leaves cut chiffenade.

Drain the pasta and add it and half the reserved water to the saute' pan.  Cook the pasta in the sauce for an additional 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened and clings to the pasta.  Using tongs remove the pasta to plates or a serving platter.  Add the shrimp and the basil back to the pan adding a little reserved pasta water if necessary and heat the shrimp through.  Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the pasta.

I had a Morellino di  Scansano 2009 from Mocali with this.  Red or white could be paired with this dish, but the Morellino had nice subtle ripe fruit and medium acidity so it met with the tomato sauce and spice very nicely.

Those shrimp heads were sweet and rich and the sauce picked up the flavor from the saute' pan.  When you are lucky enough to find great raw product like this from a reliable source, it makes an immeasurable difference in the final dish.