Smoked Shrimp With Chile-Lime Dipping Sauce

This dish is inspired by the smoked shrimp of Malaysia, udang salai, which is similar to the smoked shrimp of southern Thailand, kung siap. The preparation involves cooking whole shrimp—complete with the heads, shells, and tails—low and slow over wood, coconut husks, or wood charcoal. The shrimp traditionally used for this dish are not usually large, and after smoking they crisp up and shrink to the point where you can eat each one whole—head, shell, and tail—in a single bite.

I use a smoker and a sweet, mild wood like cherry or apple for these jumbo shrimp. The shrimp I choose are quite large, so I serve them as a full meal along with a spicy chile-lime dipping sauce. This is a peel-and-eat affair, which lends itself well to a cookout or an outdoor party. Make a large batch, spread out the smoked shrimp, seafood boil style, on a paper-lined picnic table, set a bowl of sauce in the middle, and go to town.

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