Chili Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry with Soy Sauce

Name: Chili Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 lb shrimp, (peeled and deveined); salt and black pepper, (to taste); 1 Tbsp sesame oil; 1 small head broccoli, (cut into small florets); 1 red bell pepper, (sliced); 1 yellow bell pepper, (sliced); 2 cloves garlic, (minced); 1 Tbsp ginger, (grated); 1 Tbsp honey; ⅓ cup soy sauce; 1 Tbsp corn starch; ½ lime, (juiced); 1 pinch red pepper flakes; 2½ Tbsp chili garlic sauce; sesame seeds, (for serving)

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This shrimp stir fry is a simple weeknight dinner staple that’s bursting with garlic and soy sauce flavor! Just fry your shrimp alongside veggies and you’ve got yourself a healthy meal in just under 30 minutes.

shrimp stir fry with vegetables over rice in a dish on a wooden board with chopsticks on the side.

Table of Contents

Why I Love This Recipe For Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry

This shrimp stir fry is such a great weeknight dinner to throw together and slide on the table within 15 minutes! Stir frying is such a simple method and there’s minimal clean-up!

For this shrimp stir fry, you’ll essentially throw everything in the skillet and then enjoy. This meal has fresh and juicy seafood, crisp vegetables, and a delightful garlic sauce that envelopes the meal in flavor. Plus, it’s extremely customizable because you can add more vegetables to suit your preferences and bulk up the veggie content!

Throw your stir fry over white rice, noodles, or just enjoy it on its own. There’s no downside to whipping up this quick and healthy meal!

Key Ingredients For Stir Fry and Garlic Sauce

a spread of ingredients for a stir fry with labels corresponding to each ingredient in a thin black font lime juice shrimp sesame seeds honey sesame oil garlic ginger red pepper flakes soy sauce black pepper yellow bell pepper red bell pepper corn starch chili garlic sauce broccoli salt and olive oil.

For this shrimp stir fry we’re going to have two components: the food and the sauce. The ingredients you’ll need to make the shrimp and vegetables are as follows:

Shrimp – peeled and deveined

Vegetables – broccoli, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper

Oil – olive and sesame

Seasonings – salt, pepper, garlic, grated ginger

As for the sauce, you’ll need honey, soy sauce, cornstarch, lime juice, red pepper flakes, and chili garlic sauce. You can always serve your stir fry with sesame seeds, but that ingredient is optional.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

How to Make Shrimp Stir Fry

Step 1: Cook Shrimp

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat with olive oil. Add your shrimp and season it with salt and pepper. Then, cook the shrimp until it’s golden, stirring 1-2 times, which should take about 5 minutes. When the shrimp is cooked through, remove them from the skillet.

Step 2: Cook the vegetables

In the same skillet, add sesame oil, broccoli, and bell pepper. Cook the veggies on medium heat, stirring a few times, until they’re soft. This should take about 7 minutes.

shrimp sauté in white skillet with wooden spoon broccoli with red and yellow bell peppers sauteed in skillet.

Step 3: Add More Flavor

Add garlic and ginger to the skillet of vegetables and cook for about 1 more minute. Stirring.

Step 4: Mix Sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, lime juice, honey, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and chili garlic sauce. Add the sauce to the skillet and stir to coat the vegetables.

broccoli with red and yellow bell peppers in a white skillet and wooden spoon and stir sauce mixed.

Step 5: Add Sauce

Add the sauce to the skillet and stir to coat the vegetables.

Step 6: Add Shrimp

Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook with the vegetables and sauce until everything is heated through.

stir fry sauce and shrimp added to skillet of vegetables.

Step 7: Serve

Serve your shrimp stir-fry with sesame seeds, over rice, mixed in with noodles, or on its own! Enjoy!

shrimp with broccoli and bell peppers in white shallow bowl over rice on wooden board.

Here are some tips on how to make this Shrimp Stir Fry:

Chop up all of the vegetables beforehand. Most of these simple ingredients can be sliced, chopped, or measured out the day before or several hours before. It’s a great idea because when you put it together, all you will need to do is heat up the skillet for this shrimp dish. This is the best way to maximize your cooking time!

Chop the vegetables to all be the same size. When one veggie chunk is bigger than the other, it can create an uneven sear. Making sure they’re all the same size makes the mixing and sauteing easier in this original recipe.

Make the chili-garlic sauce separately and keep it in the fridge! This sweet chili garlic shrimp recipe can be made any time when you have a ready sauce. The delicious sauce can be used on chicken stir fry or beef veggie stir fry when you need it.

Recipe FAQs

How to marinade shrimp for stir fry?

You can marinade the shrimp for the stir fry beforehand by making half of the spicy sauce beforehand (or all of it, if you’d like) and marinating the deveined and peeled shrimp in it overnight or for a couple of hours beforehand. This makes the shrimp even more rich in flavor.

How long does it take to stir fry shrimp?

Shrimp stir fry takes 30 minutes to make. 15 minutes for ingredient preparation and 15 minutes for cooking. If you’re using frozen vegetables, the ingredient preparation can take longer. Not because you’re chopping up the veggies, but because they will need to thaw before cooking.

How to make shrimp stir fry with frozen vegetables?

Shrimp stir fry is just as delicious with frozen vegetables. You will need about 1 hour of prep before cooking to allow the frozen vegetables to thaw. The cooking time is the same at 15 minutes.

What vegetables go best with shrimp?

In this recipe we used broccoli and two types of bell pepper which go wonderfully with shrimp! You can also serve shrimp with asparagus, green beans, mushrooms, or even peas. It’s really up to you and your own preferences.

Can I cook my shrimp from frozen?

Yes, you can as long as it was peeled and deveined before freezing. Otherwise, you’re better off using freshly peeled and deveined shrimp for this recipe. Keep in mind that frozen shrimp will also give off more liquid, but since you’re removing the shrimp from the pan before cooking the veggies it may not be too much of a problem.

How do I keep my stir fry from getting soggy?

Make sure you use a large skillet to avoid the overcrowding and subsequent steaming that comes from cooking too many things in too small of a space.

shrimp stir fry in a pot with veggies and garlic sauce.

Here are some more tasty shrimp recipes you’ll love!

A Shrimp Pasta in Tomato Basil Sauce is a great easy dinner recipe!
You may also want to bring some Italian flavors home by trying out shrimp with white wine sauce and butter.

Other Tasty Seafood Recipes

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