Shrimp Rice Pilaf is a delicious dish made with whole colossal shrimps, long grain rice, and a very flavorful tomato sauce made out of the shrimps' shells and heads.

If you are not familiar with the term "Pilaf", then let me tell you what it is. A Pilaf is a dish made with long-grain rice (parboiled or Basmati), that gets finished off in a sauce. Meaning the rice is added right at the end when the sauce is thickened so it absorbs it all. Resulting in a rice dish that's firm to the bite. Not mushy and saucy like Rissoto for example.

You can make Pilaf in many ways even with veggies or meat. But this one beats them all by far. Is there really anything more flavorful than shrimps?

And I'm talking about whole colossal shrimps. It doesn't matter so much if you use fresh or frozen as the good thing with Shrimps is that they don't lose almost any of their flavor when frozen. What makes a difference in flavor though is how much they have been processed. Blanched shrimps for example won't bring much flavor to a dish. But whole instantly frozen ones have a lot to give.

And now you may be wondering why I haven't removed the shrimps' heads in this recipe. I do this for two reasons.

Reason number one, it's how we Greeks eat them. I am not sure how much you will like to know what I am about to say, but I will give you the chance to try it...

Here is how you eat a whole shrimp. The first thing you do is to remove its head and drink all the liquid that's inside it (I meant to say suck, but it doesn't make it sound very appetizing). But that's the most delicious part out of the whole shrimp. And then you eat the rest of the shrimp.

As for reason number two, it's because the heads contain so much flavor (what I tried to explain in reason number one, and hopefully you are still with me and not disgusted and left 😀 ). And all this flavor is what goes into the sauce and makes it sooo tasty! Plus, they look more wow-ish when you serve them whole don't they?

Want another great recipe using whole shrimps? Try my Shrimp Spaghetti With Fresh Tomato Sauce.

I do use some headless shrimps also that get mixed with the rice in this recipe. So if you don't like your shrimps with their heads on, simply remove them from all the shrimps.

Shrimp Pilaf — rice pilaf with tomato and whole shrimps

How To Clean And Prepare Whole Shrimps

It's easy to prepare whole shrimps but it takes some time to do so. That's mainly because of the deveining process. That does require some patience as it's a process that requires you to work slowly. But let me tell you how to do it like a pro in a few simple steps.

First, pull and remove the head (skip this if recipe instructs so).
Second, remove the legs.
Third, remove the shells by grabbing hold of them right from where you removed the legs. Leave only 1 small piece of shell where the tail is. And if you haven't removed the head, leave also one small piece of shell right after the head to help hold the head in place.
Fourth, de-vein. For the shrimps that have their heads on, use a toothpick and prick right under the head on the back of the shrimp. Gently pull out the little black vein. Then hold it with your hands and carefully pull it upwards towards the shrimps head. If you have removed the head you'll be able to see the little vein comming out. Hold it and pull it upwards very slowly so it won't break. If the vein breaks at some point and doesn't come out all in one piece, then simply prick and pull it out again. Using a toothpick leaves the shrimp looking almost intact. Some people use a knife and cut the back all the way down to reveal the vein and remove it. But that is really not necessary. The toothpick method is what professional cooks do and only requires for you to practice on 2-3 shrimps until you get the hang of it.

A Quick Peek On How To Make Shrimp Rice Pilaf

Make the sauce in the same fashion you cook a stock. Using the shells and heads from the prepared shrimps. Along with tomato sauce, white wine, red onion, green garlic (or green onions whatever you find), green bell pepper, crushed garlic, bay leaf, fresh parsley.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the rice seperately, and set aside to drain.
In an another pot, saute the shrimps and then add the reduced sauce that you have passed through a sieve.
Remove the shrimps that are to serve on top (the ones with the heads) and leave only the headless ones in the sauce. Stir in the rice.
Serve with crumbled feta cheese and chopped fresh chillies on top. But that's optional and only if you like spicy!

Recipe