Shrimp Pilau

This is classic Lowcountry shrimp pilau (locals say “purloo"), the kind of one-skillet rice dish that fed coastal Carolina families for generations. Sweet shrimp get sprinkled with Worcestershire and dredged in cayenne-spiced flour for a thin coating that browns beautifully and forms the savory base of the dish. Butter, celery, and red bell pepper build the Southern aromatic foundation, the so-called “Holy Trinity” minus the onion. The shrimp simmer in the butter just long enough to turn pink and curl, about five minutes total. Crisp bacon, crumbled with its drippings, gets folded into hot cooked rice along with the saucy shrimp for the final assembly. The bacon fat is what makes pilau pilau. It carries the smoke into every grain of rice and ties the dish to its Gullah-Geechee coastal roots.

Pro Tips

• Use long-grain white rice for authentic pilau texture. Sticky or short-grain rice will not separate into individual fluffy grains.
• Cook the rice in chicken or shrimp stock instead of plain water for deeper flavor.
• Save every drop of bacon drippings. The rendered fat plus the crispy crumbles is essential to the final flavor.
• Devein the shrimp before cooking and pat them dry. Wet shrimp refuse to pick up the flour coating cleanly.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the flour for an extra layer of smokiness without more bacon.
• Stir in a handful of frozen peas or chopped scallions for color and freshness.
• Substitute sliced Andouille sausage for the bacon for a Cajun-leaning pilau.