Shrimp Scampi [Alcohol(?)]

ARTICLE

ALCOHOL
	Shrimp Scampi is served in a butter and white wine sauce. View our recipe for halal Shrimp Scampi A plate of Shrimp Scampi

Spotlight Halal:
Shrimp Scampi

Spotlight Halal is a collection of food and ingredient articles on IsItHaram.com.

WHAT IS IT?

Shrimp Scampi is an Italian dish of shrimp (prawns) cooked in a garlicky, butter- wine sauce and served over pasta or rice. It is one of the more popular seafood dishes in Italian-American restaurants. In Italian 'scampi' means a type of small lobster, although in America it refers to a style of cooking using butter, garlic and dry white wine or vermouth .

Vermouth is a type of white wine that has been fortified with ethanol (ethyl alcohol) , the kind of alcohol found in all alcoholic beverages , and flavored with aromatic herbs and spices. Because it is a fortified wine, vermouth has an alcohol content of around 20% , compared to around 12% for the typical wine .

A variation on this dish is Chicken Scampi, made with chicken breast in place of shrimp.

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HOW IS IT MADE?

Shrimp is cooked in butter and garlic until just done. Dry (non-sweet) white wine or vermouth , some lemon juice and some chopped parsley are then added to the pan and cooked just until heated -- around 30 seconds more. Red pepper flakes are sometimes added for heat. The shrimp and sauce are tossed with pasta, or poured over rice and then served.

The typical recipe for Shrimp Scampi calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine per serving.

-- Try our halal Shrimp Scampi recipe for a quick and delicious meal --

WARNING LEVEL: MEDIUM

Because it is a seafood dish, the fact that Shrimp Scampi is prepared with alcohol may fly under the radar of many Muslims who order it simply to avoid eating non- zabihah meat. Most restaurant menus do list white wine as an ingredient in Shrimp Scampi. However, this dish may be a danger area for those who are not familiar with Italian cuisine.

At restaurants, the butter-wine sauce for Shrimp Scampi is made-to-order for each diner. The wine is added to the dish at the last seconds of cooking. Tell your waiter to ask the cook to omit the wine from your sauce.

ALCOHOL AND COOKING

AMNA classifies any food that has been made with an alcoholic product as ALCOHOL , even if it has been sautéed, simmered, baked or set on fire. The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates during cooking. It’s wrong.

In fact, according to a study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory, you have to cook something for a good three hours to remove virtually all traces of alcohol. After it has cooked for less than one minute, 85% of the alcohol remains in the Shrimp Scampi – between a quarter to half of a cup, depending on the recipe.

-- Learn more about Alcohol cook-off times on the AMNA web site at --

ARE SHRIMP HALAL?

Shrimp are halal food in the Sunni methahib : Malaki, Hanbali and Shafa'i. Within the Hanafi School, there are varying opinions. Shrimp are not halal in the Jafari School, which is Shi'a.

Clam Chowder [Pork?], found at

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