This easy shrimp stir-fry flavored with garlic, honey, and veggies gets done in just 15 minutes. Use fresh or frozen shrimp and veggies. Serve over rice, noodles, or on its own.
Table of Content
I am a huge fan of shrimps and prawns. I grew up with mom making them often. My favorite is tandoori prawns and prawn pilaf. And, shrimps make a great addition to stir-fry dishes. They are small and little bite-size treats that add so much flavor. And the best part is that they cook in minutes. So, simple dishes like buttered shrimps or shrimp curry are quick and easy to make.
Today, I'm using pepper in my stir-fry. And yet, you could actually use almost any veggies you have in the fridge. See all my stir-fry recipes here for some ideas. And if you don't have prawns, you can make a chicken or beef stir-fry.
About this stir fry
In addition to being quick and easy, this is also very versatile. One advantage of stir-fry is it keeps veggies crisp-tender, so they retain more nutrients than if they were boiled. Also, stir-frying uses less oil. So the fat content is usually low.
The three golden rules of stir-fry
A stir-fry, if done correctly, is an absolute treat. The meat has to be well cooked, yet smoky, or stewed. The veggies have to be cooked al dente, meaning cooked but with a bite not soft and not mushy. Getting it right means following these three golden rules.
- The right pan for a stir-fry is a wok. If you don't have a wok, use a light
sauté pan that you can heat on medium to high. Never use non-stick pots or heavy bottom pans. Non-stick will get ruined, and the heavy bottom pan will create steam. - Mise en
plas or prepare before you stir-fry. A stir-fry is a quick dish, which means you have to get all the things ready before you turn that heat on. Cut the ingredients you need, prepare the sauce, have the garnish chopped. Keep that serving platter on hand so you can take it off the heat quickly. - Quick cooking - Most stir-fry dishes take no more than 7 to 10 minutes on the heat. The idea of stir-fry is to cook quickly on high heat. So keep that flame on high or medium-high. Use a splash of water when necessary to bring down the temperature of the heat in the pan. Never leave the
wok unattended (yup, don't answer that phone).
Ingredients and substitute
- Shrimps - I love using shrimps or prawns for this. And yet, you can also make this with chicken or beef. See my Chicken stir-fry as well as Beef and pepper Stir-fry.
- Peppers - A great veggie to stir-fry because it cooks quickly and still looks bright and vibrant. I've used three colors today. But, you can use whatever color you can find that makes your dish really beautiful.
- Onions - Sliced thickly, these add a nice bite to the dish. And, if you don't like onions you can slice them up thin, which adds flavor to the sauce as well.
- Garlic and ginger - Ain't no stir-fry without these two flavor boosters.
- Herbs - I love cilantro, and yet, Chinese parsley is common in stir-frys.
- Fish sauce or Dashi - Can be found in most Asian grocery stores. If you enjoy Japanese food, you must try Dashi powder, which is powdered Japanese fish stock often used to make Miso soup.
- Sesame Oil - Most Asian foods use sesame oil. Adding just a few drops of this can really give your stir-fry an authentic flavor. It also has a long shelf life, so it will last in the pantry for a long time.
Step by step instructions
- Clean, vein, shell, and pat dry the shrimps. Cut the peppers into long ¼ inch strips - and set aside. Dice the tofu into long thin pieces similar to the peppers.
Tip - Keeping the tails on the shrimps looks more presentable for serving but it's a personal choice. - Combine all sauce ingredients in the small bowl - and set aside.
Tip - Cornstarch will set to the bottom of the sauce so you will need to mix it again before adding it to the pan. - Heat the wok on high and add one tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the shrimps and stir fry for 3 minutes until they turn pink and almost cooked. Remover from the pan and set aside.
Tip - We remove the shrimps from the pan now so we don't overcook and make them rubbery. - To the same wok, add another tablespoon of oil and lightly brown the tofu on all sides - remove and set aside.
Tip - Don't be afraid to let the tofu caramelize on all sides. We take the tofu out as it can break when stir-frying. - Next, add another tablespoon of oil to the wok - saute ginger, garlic. Then, add the bell peppers. Stir-fry for two minutes on high.
- Return the tofu and shrimps back to the pan along with the sauce and green onions. Stir-fry for two minutes until everything is well combined.
Tip - Keep the heat on medium so the liquid has time to coat everything before it dries out. - Finally, sprinkle some fresh chopped cilantro. Garnish with more green onions.
- Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
The best thing about stir-fry dishes is that they are so versatile and leave you so much freedom to add or subtract. In this stir-fry, you can use fewer or more peppers if you want. Try adding some broccoli, green beans, or carrot as I have done in my recipes for Chicken and green bread stir-fry, chicken and broccoli stir-fry.
Yes, shrimp is not the only thing popular in stir-fry recipes. You can even try chicken breast, beef, thinly sliced pork, chopped sausages. Asian cooking uses meat and seafood in stir-fry dishes very successfully.
It is recommended to use soybean oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, or sunflower oil. All of these have a high smoking point. Any oil that works well for deep frying is preferable for stir-fry because a stir-fry is cooked on high heat. Olive oil, in contrast, is best used raw on salad and when cooking with a light saute method.
A wok made with carbon-steel and is light in weight. It can be cooked on very high heat and retains that high heat for long, giving you that smoky flavor right in the comfort of your own kitchen. You can cook veggies on high, which is perfect for stir-fry. Having said that, you can certainly use a stainless steel frying pan. However, do not use non-stick as you will ruin the pan with high heat cooking.
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Shrimp Stir-Fry
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Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
For the stir-fry
- 2 cups (250 g) Shrimps (cleaned, veined and shelled)
- 2 cups (250 g) Bell peppers (sliced into long strips)
- 3 tablespoon Canola oil ((divided) )
- ½ cup Green onions ((or shallots) chopped )
- 1 clove Garlic (thinly sliced)
- ½ inch (1 cm) Ginger (thinly sliced)
- 4 oz (113 g) Tofu (sliced into long strips)
- ¼ cup Parsley (or cilantro chopped )
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoon Soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dark soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon Honey
- 1 tablespoon Fish sauce (or 1 teaspoon Dashi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 4 tablespoon Water
Instructions
- Clean, vein, shell, and pat dry the shrimps. Cut the peppers into long ¼ inch strips - and set aside. Dice the tofu into long thin pieces similar to the peppers.Tip - Keeping the tails on the shrimps looks more presentable for serving but it's a personal choice.
- Combine all sauce ingredients in the small bowl - and set aside. Tip - Cornstarch will set to the bottom of the sauce so you will need to mix it again before adding it to the pan
- Heat the wok on high and add one tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the shrimps and stir fry for 3 minutes until they turn pink and almost cooked. Remover from the pan and set aside.Tip - We remove the shrimps from the pan now so we don't overcook and make them rubbery.
- To the same wok, add another tablespoon of oil and lightly brown the tofu on all sides - remove and set aside.Tip - Don't be afraid to let the tofu caramelize on all sides. We take the tofu out as it can break when stir-frying.
- Next, add another tablespoon of oil to the wok - saute ginger, garlic. Then, add the bell peppers. Stir-fry for two minutes on high.
- Return the tofu and shrimps back to the pan along with the sauce and green onions. Stir-fry for two minutes until everything is well combined. Tip - Keep the heat on medium so the liquid has time to coat everything before it dries out.
- Finally, sprinkle some fresh chopped cilantro. Garnish with more green onions.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Stir-fry is quick-cooking, so always have all your ingredients ready before you start.
- High heat is always recommended for stir-fry. And yet, some veggies like broccoli, carrots, and beans benefit better from medium-high with a slash of water. While mushrooms and leaves benefit from high heat to quickly evaporate the released moisture.
- Also, when adding any liquid turn the heat up and stir at the same time so everything is coated in the starch before the water evaporates
- Take the pan off the heat when done to prevent overcooking.
- Sometimes it’s best to transfer the stir-fry to a serving plate to prevent veggies from going mushy.
- Use salt sparingly because – sauces used in stir-frys have salt added to them as a preservative.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Rachna
I love shrimp and I love quick stir fries. This is a delicious and comforting recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Beth Sachs
Such a tasty and quick mid week meal. The kids love it too.
Kacie Morgan
Sounds like a superb stirfry. I've recently started a new diet and I think I could probably get away with eating this on it actually.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Love a good stir fry with shrimp and I really like the idea of adding the tofu. A tasty and healthy meal.