This easy Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry recipe is a delicious recipe on the dinner table in 20 minutes. My favorite on a busy weeknight and best enjoyed with a small bowl of white rice or brown rice! (It's Japanese-inspired so the sauce is a little spicy, but I also show you how to make authentic Japanese Teriyaki Sauce if that's what you prefer.) (NO CORN STARCH.)
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🥘 Ingredients
You will need a few simple ingredients:
- raw shrimp: peeled and deveined. I use pre-peeled shrimp from the frozen section. It can be thawed in the fridge the day before, or you can rinse it in running water to thaw it.
- fresh ginger: please do not use ginger powder
- fresh garlic: please do not use garlic powder
- oil: Asians use vegetable oil and not olive oil at home (traditionally.) Many now cook with olive oil for health reasons, but if you want the dish to taste more "Asian", use a neutral vegetable oil.
For the sauce:
- sake: since this is Japanese inspired, and not authentic Japanese, you can also use Shaoxing wine.
- light soy sauce: those on a GF diet can use coconut aminos or Japanese tamari but note I have not tested those 2 substitutions before. (You'll also need to substitute the dark soy if celiac.) If you prefer lighter tasting food, use low-sodium soy sauce and add salt to taste.
- dark soy sauce
- honey: I have not tried with maple syrup
- Sriracha
- rice wine vinegar: I have also used Apple Cider vinegar as a substitute before.
Note: you can also use store-bought teriyaki sauce but it won't taste as good.
For the garnish, you can use sliced green onions, sliced chilies, and sesame oil (or lightly toasted sesame seeds.)
Note: I highly recommend serving with rice on the side, be it white rice or cauliflower rice, to soak up the sauce.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. Mix the light soy, sake, dark soy, rice vinegar, and honey.
1b. Over high heat, heat a wok or large skillet. Add the oil and heat till the oil is shimmering (just before smoking.)
1c. Add the ginger- be careful as the oil will splatter a bit- and stir fry till fragrant for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté till fragrant. This will only take seconds.
Note: garlic burns easily so if you're not proficient with stir frying, reduce to medium high heat or even medium heat.
2. Add the raw shrimp and stir fry till cooked. It took me 2-3 minutes, but may take you longer/ shorter depending on the size of your wok. (Ideally it should be large enough that the shrimp can fit in a single layer.) Plate the prawns.
Note: if you double up the recipe, you will need to cook the prawn in batches as it's difficult to stir fry more than 20 oz at 1 go.
3. Add the mixture of sauces to the same wok and simmer till the sauce has reduced and thickened. (see below for photos.)
Note: if you're impatient, you can add a corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce instead of simmering it down. Keep stirring as you drizzle it in and reduce the heat, to avoid the sauce becoming goopy.
4. Once the golden brown sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and drip off very slowly (like molasses), return the shrimp to the wok, stir to coat for a minute or so, then switch off the fire.
Garnish with the spring onions and sesame oil, and you get a simple meal but delicious!
Thickness of Sauce
Ideally, you want your sauce to be as thick as the photo on the top left. The top right is a bit too dilute, and hence the prawns aren't as well-coated/ don't taste as good. (This can happen because some juices run out of the prawns when you're simmering the sauce, and they dilute the thickened teriyaki sauce. You'll either need to simmer for longer if that happens, or not add the juices to the pan.)
🥡 How to Store
Extras can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat over low heat for tender shrimp, till 100% hot through (high heat will affect the texture of the shrimp.)
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: For an authentic teriyaki, use the sauce from this teriyaki chicken meatballs recipe instead.
Tip #2: For a one-pan meal for the whole family, you can add fresh vegetables, such as snow peas, snap peas, or green beans. You can also add red bell pepper but note that it will release water that will dilute the sauce. (If you add fresh veggies, you will need to make more sauce, or reduce the amount of shrimp.)
🥗 More Teriyaki Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Japanese Teriyaki Shrimp Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this teriyaki seafood dish, please consider supporting it by buying me a bottle of soy sauce! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
EASY Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry (20 min)
Equipment
- 1 Wok Substitute: pan or skillet
- 1 heat proof spatula
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tablespoons vegetable cooking oil Use a neutral flavoured one
- 2 inch ginger peeled and sliced into matchsticks
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
- 21 oz Shrimp (600g) Peeled. You can use frozen shrimp but you they should weigh 600g after defrosting.
Spicy Teriyaki Sauce
- 8 Tablespoons Sake Substitute: shaoxing wine
- 4 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Honey
- 2 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar Substitute: Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Sriracha Omit if you don't like spice
Garnish
- 1 sprig spring onion sliced. You can also garnish with sliced red chilies if you like it spicier.
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Mix the light soy, sake, dark soy, vinegar, and honey.
- Over high heat, heat a wok. Add the oil and heat till the oil is shimmering (just before smoking.)
- Add the ginger- be careful as the oil will splatter a bit- and stir fry till fragrant. Add the garlic and sauté till fragrant. This will only take seconds. Note: garlic burns easily so if you're not proficient with stir frying, reduce to medium-high heat.
- Add the prawns and stir fry till cooked. Plate the prawns.
- Add the mixture of sauces to the same wok and simmer till the sauce has reduced and thickened. (see above for photos.)
- Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and drip off very slowly (like molasses), return the shrimp to the wok, stir to coat for a minute or so, then switch off the fire.
- Garnish with the spring onions and sesame oil.
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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Cc says
Omg this was so good. Can you make it into a noodle recipe too?
Zen says
so happy you liked the teriyaki prawns, cc- I do have a teriyaki chicken udon on the site! 🙂