Pepper Shrimp is Jamaica's fiery street snack — fresh river shrimp boiled in a intense scotch bonnet and garlic broth, eaten from a paper bag, shells and all. Found at roadside stalls along Jamaica's rivers (especially the Middle Quarters in St. Elizabeth), it is the most addictive, most fiery snack in Jamaican street food.
Pepper Shrimp is a specialty of Jamaica's Middle Quarters area in St. Elizabeth parish, where freshwater shrimp are caught in the Black River and boiled in a fiery broth of scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, allspice, and vinegar. The shrimp are sold in paper bags at roadside stalls, eaten by peeling (or eating shells and all) with the spicy broth still clinging to them. The dish is one of Jamaica's most iconic street foods — the kind of thing you stop for on a road trip, eat standing by the car, and burn your mouth on.
A pile of bright orange-red shrimp in a paper bag, still wet with the spicy broth. Bite in — the shrimp is sweet, then the scotch bonnet heat explodes, then the garlic and vinegar kick in. It is intensely spicy, intensely flavorful, and impossible to stop eating. Have a cold drink ready.
The shrimp should be fresh (river shrimp are traditional, but any large shrimp works). The broth is a simple but intense combination: lots of scotch bonnet, lots of garlic, vinegar (for tang), allspice, and salt. The shrimp are boiled briefly (5 minutes — overcooking toughens them), then left to sit in the broth (so they absorb the flavor). They are served wet, in a paper bag.
Variations
Some use dried shrimp; some add ginger; some add thyme; the heat level varies (but it should always be spicy).
On the Palate
Where Pepper Shrimp sits in the Jamaican flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 20 min active + 10 min waiting
- 15 min
Bring 1 liter water to a boil with 5 scotch bonnet peppers (halved), 10 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp allspice, 1 sprig thyme, and 1 tbsp salt.
- 25 min
Add 500 g fresh large shrimp (shell-on).
- 310 min
Boil 5 minutes until the shrimp turn pink.
Watch outPull the shrimp the moment they turn pink and curl into a loose bend — a couple minutes more and the meat goes rubbery.
- 41 min
Remove from heat; let the shrimp sit in the broth 10 minutes to absorb flavor.
Watch outKill the heat before steeping — off the flame the shrimp keep drinking in the peppery brine without toughening.
- 51 min
Drain; serve in paper bags.
- 61 min
Have cold drinks ready.
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