Name: Cereal butter shrimp
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1/2 lbs large shrimp (about 15 shrimps or substitute with prawn); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp white pepper; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp cornstarch; 4 tbsp cooking oil; 3 thai chili (chopped); 2 lime leaves (sliced thinly); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1/2 cup Nestum cereal (or substitute with oat)

I know cereal butter shrimp is probably something you have never heard of before, but hey, there’s always a first time for everything, right? 😉

This cereal butter shrimp recipe is adapted from the famous Singaporean cereal prawns.

In Singapore, you would usually find this dish in hawker stalls and you won’t be able to resist it. You can substitute this cereal butter shrimp recipe with prawns, but I used frozen shrimp for convenience!

When I remade and tasted this dish, it immediately took me back to my childhood days in Indonesia. I remember we used to eat this occasionally during our family dinner and cereal butter shrimp always leaves us wanting more. The crunch from the cereal along with the aroma from the lime leaves and a little heat from the thai chili is what I call perfection.

Now let’s jump to the core ingredients of the cereal butter shrimp recipe!

You might wonder “why would you combine cereal, a breakfast food, with shrimp?” The short answer: because it tastes so GOOD! There is a specific cereal that we use to make cereal butter shrimp and that’s the Nestum cereal. Nestum is the perfect cereal because it is sweet and milky, pairs perfectly with the spices we’ll be using. The good news: you can find this in Walmart! I’ve heard a lot of folks saying it’s hard to get anywhere else, especially if you’re not in Asia.

If you are not able to find Nestum cereal, you can also use oatmeal, but keep in mind that you would want to toast it first and add milk powder and some sugar because they are pretty bland. You want your cereal butter shrimp to be exciting and flavorful 😉

The perfect spices for cereal butter shrimp

Now that I’ve answered your burning question on why we pair cereal with shrimp, it’s time to move on to the spices. You only need 3 spices to make the cereal butter: thai chili, lime leaves and garlic – pretty simple, right? You can find most of these ingredients in your local Asian grocery store.

Although I thought that the lime leaves will be a bit tricky to find, I was able to find it at H-mart at their refrigerated vegetable section. You can also substitute this with curry leaves. I think the lime leaves is the ingredient that really reminds me of my childhood when remaking this myself. The fragrance is something that you can’t find anywhere else. Especially when you start chopping and sautéing them – you’ll know what I mean once you try it!

You would think that the thai chili is optional, but I think if you are using a sweet ingredient (in this case, the cereal), you would want to pair it with a little spice to balance the flavor. I use 3 thai chili in this cereal butter shrimp recipe which I think most folks can handle but you can still feel the heat. So, if you prefer a less spicy dish, you can just use 1-2 thai chili instead.

The butter

This recipe is called cereal butter shrimp for a reason. Don’t worry, we’re not using a crazy amount of butter here – only 3 tablespoons. The purpose of the butter is to bind the cereal and the spices together and of course, for aroma.

The shrimp

Lastly, of course we have to talk about the protein we’re cooking aka the shrimp. If you are using frozen shrimp like myself, make sure to completely thaw it first before marinating it so it cooks evenly. Marinating it is easy, you will only need salt and pepper and you can definitely adjust this to your liking. Next, you will coat the shrimp with cornstarch so it gives you a crispy outer layer when frying it.

After you finished marinating the shrimp, heat up your cooking oil to high heat. You don’t need to deep fry this, you can simply use a pan or wok. A little tip from myself: get ready for some oil splattering as you cook the shrimp. I usually cover the surrounding areas of my cooking pan with some newspaper or paper towels. Once the shrimp has been cook (until golden brown) take them out and set them aside.

Combining the cereal butter shrimp together

Now that we have the shrimp cooked, we want to cook our cereal butter. In a clean pan, let your butter melt under medium low heat. You don’t want your butter to evaporate too fast. Then, add our spices and mix everything together. Once you smell that delicious fragrance and the garlic turns slightly brown, add the Nestum cereal and mix everything evenly. Lastly, add your cooked shrimp and combine everything together!

Enjoy your cereal butter shrimp!

Trust me, you need to serve the cereal butter shrimp with rice – I especially love coating my rice with that cereal butter crumbs. If you’ve tried this recipe, please let us know what you think and leave a rating at the comment box down below 🙂

Enjoy!

Want more easy Asian recipes? check out:

Tahu Telur

Crab Rangoon

Longganisa Lumpia

ingredients:

½ lbs large shrimp (about 15 shrimps, can be substituted with prawns)
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp cooking oil
3 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lime leaves, sliced thinly
3 thai chili, chopped
½ cup Nestum cereal*

steps:

First, marinade and coat the shrimp by adding white pepper, black pepper, salt and cornstarch in a bowl. If you are using frozen shrimp, let shrimp thaw by pouring running water on it and marinade once it’s thaw. Ensure to coat the shrimp with the marinades evenly.
Next, add 4 tbsp of cooking oil into a pan/wok on medium high heat. Once the oil is warmed up, add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is golden.
When the shrimp has finished cooking, take it off the pan and rinse off the pan. Bring the pan to medium heat and add butter. Let the butter melt.
Once the butter has melted, add garlic, thai chili and lime leaves. Sauté for about 1 minute until you smell the fragrance and the garlic has turned golden.
Then, add the Nestum cereal and mix everything together for another minute before adding the fried shrimp.
Take the pan off heat and serve the cereal butter shrimp with rice. Enjoy!