This Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir Fry is an amazing fast and easy seafood dinner idea inspired by Asian flavors. Ready in less than 30 minutes and full of vegetables. Gluten free and dairy free.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir Fry is a popular dish in many Asian cuisines, known for its combination of sweet and tangy flavors along with a mix of vegetables and succulent shrimp.
This Asian inspired recipe brings fresh veggies and shrimp to a quick and easy sweet and sour stir fry sauce.
Stir fry recipes come together quickly and makes it a perfect weeknight dinner idea when you need something fast and healthy!
Serve this sweet and sour shrimp recipe up with rice, rice noodles, lettuce leaves to make lettuce wraps, or just in a bowl!
This is not the overly thick, red, and sweet sauce that you might find in a store. Instead the sour sauce still has an amazing sweet and sour flavor profile with different ingredients.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need for the shrimp stir fry:
- Large Shrimp – Make sure your shrimp are peeled and deveined to make it easy on you! Frozen shrimp work just fine. Simply defrost before cooking.
- Red Bell Pepper – colored bell peppers are best but green bell pepper will also work
- Snow Peas – or snap peas
- Water Chestnuts – sliced can go in without chopping! They bring great texture and moisture
- Baby Corn
- Green Onions
- Chicken Stock (or broth)
- Orange Juice – or pineapple juice
- White Vinegar – or rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Soy Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Cornstarch
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Garlic
- Ground Ginger – I use ground ginger as it is easier to have on hand, but you can also use fresh
- Vegetable Oil – it is important to NOT use olive oil as we are cooking at a high heat and olive oil burns more easily
Equipment
This is the equipment you need to make this shrimp recipe:
- Large Wok – or a large, deep skillet
- Spatula
- Measuring Spoons
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Small Bowl
- Medium Bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
Instruction Overview
Toss your shrimp with some soy sauce and cornstarch. Set aside.
Prep all of your veggies.
Make your sauce by whisking the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
Heat your large skillet or pan over medium high heat and add some oil. If at any point you feel like your pan is too hot, you can decrease to medium heat.
Add the shrimp and cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until the side touching the pan is turning pink and the bottom half of the shrimp toward the pan is white instead of clear.
Flip the shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp is cooked through, approximately 2-3 minutes more. The middle crevice down the back of the shrimp will be white instead of clear.
Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
Add another Tablespoon of oil to the same skillet.
Add all of your vegetables.
Cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes until still crisp but getting some color and starting to cook.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.
Add your sauce.
Cook stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened, approximately 30-60 seconds.
Remove from heat and add the shrimp back in plus the green onions. Top with some sesame seeds if desired.
I like to serve this stir fry on rice, rice noodles, or with lettuce as a lettuce wrap!
Modifications and Substitutions
Use any vegetables that you like! Harder veggies need to be steamed, such as broccoli. You can find instructions for that in our Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry recipe.
Pineapple is a fun sweet ingredient to add! You could also add a splash of pineapple juice along with the pineapple chunks.
Kim’s Tips
Higher heat is KEY to cooking the veggies without them getting soft and getting your sauce to be a great consistency.
Watch your shrimp closely to prevent them from over cooking!
FAQs
Do I have to have a wok to make stir fry?
No! A large, deep pot or skillet works perfectly.
What is the secret to stir fry?
Cooking at a high heat is the secret to stir fry because it will give you great flavor without overcooking the food.
What is best oil for stir fry?
Since you are cooking on a high heat, you want to use an oil that can take high temperatures. Oils such as vegetable, grapeseed, canola, or avocado will all work. Do NOT use olive oil as it burns easily.
More Stir Fry Recipes
Stir Fry Recipes
Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir Fry
Equipment
- Knife
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and de-veined, tail off
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil for cooking
- 4 ounces sliced water chestnuts drained (about half a can)
- 7 ounces baby corn drained (about half a can)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4 ounces snow peas or snap peas
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 green onions chopped
Stir Fry Sauce
- ¼ cup chicken stock or broth
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and soy sauce for the shrimp. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Set aside.1 pound large shrimp, 3 Tablespoons soy sauce, 1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
- Prepare your sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk. Set aside.¼ cup chicken stock, ¼ cup orange juice, ¼ cup white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Prep your vegetables and have them ready to go. Drain the corn and water chestnuts, trim and chop the pepper, and slice the green onion. If your baby corn is long spears, cut into bite sized pieces.
- Preheat your large skillet over medium high heat.
- When hot, add a Tablespoon of oil.2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until the side touching the pan is turning pink and the bottom half of the shrimp toward the pan is white instead of clear.
- Flip the shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp is cooked through, approximately 2-3 minutes more. The middle crevice down the back of the shrimp will be white instead of clear.
- Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add another Tablespoon of oil.
- Add all of the vegetables and cook 2-3 minutes until still crisp but starting to soften and get a little color.4 ounces sliced water chestnuts, 7 ounces baby corn, 4 ounces snow peas, 1 red bell pepper
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pot. Stir and let cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.4 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Add your sauce. Stir to combine.
- Cook while stiring constantly until the sauce has thickened, about 30-60 seconds.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the shrimp and green onions and serve.4 green onions
This was my first seafood stir-fry and yum! I just loved it. The sauce was SO good! I’m going to try it with chicken next. Thanks!
Wow – this looks like an easy and delicious shrimp stir fry recipe! I’m going to try it with some broccoli and carrots. Can’t wait!
Those succulent shrimp paired with the tangy-sweet sauce and crisp veggies make for an epic weeknight dinner.
I made this for a quick and easy dinner and it turned out fabulous. I love that it’s also low calorie and packed with colorful veggies.
This shrimp stir fry was so easy to whip up and made a delicious dinner! I served it over rice and we loved it!
This Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir Fry looks delicious. I love that it has a combination of veggies too. Perfect side dish for Dinner.
So much flavor in the stir fry. We loved it. Quick, easy and so tasty!
Such a colorful, vibrant, and delicious dish! It’s so easy to make and perfect any night of the week! Thank you so much for sharing!
I love a good stir fry, and this one really hit the spot! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe 🙂
I am skipping takeout the next time we are craving Chinese and making this at home instead! 🙂 This looks absolutely delicious. I know my family would love it.
Wow – this looks so good! I’m going to try it with some broccoli and carrots. Can’t wait!