I've never enjoyed sweet and sour shrimp like I did with this recipe. This is a super easy and quick stir-fried Chinese dish in which crispy shrimp, crunchy bell peppers, and juicy pineapple are cooked in an incredibly flavorful sweet and sour sauce.
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Chinese Sweet And Sour Shrimp
This classic Chinese dish is one of the easiest homemade shrimp recipes, it will be ready in less than 30 minutes. I like to serve it with white rice or noodles.
I also find this dish healthier than my favourite restaurant's sweet and sour shrimp. It's healthy, quick, flavorful and perfect for weeknight dinners.
The sweet taste of this dish comes from the juicy pineapple chunks and the honey in the sauce, while the sour taste comes from the cider vinegar and soy sauce. It combines both these flavours and balances them in such a fresh and refreshing way.
Ingredients
Note: This is an overview of the ingredients. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Shrimp: I use large peeled shrimp. You can use any shrimp size you have. However, shrimp takes very little time to cook, so make sure you don’t overcook it.
Note: Both fresh and frozen shrimp will work just fine.
Pineapple chunks: I prefer to use fresh pineapple over canned pineapple as it tends to be sweeter, juicier, and more flavourful.
Bell pepper: I use red and green bell peppers to give the dish some crunch and lovely colours.
Oil: I use olive oil and sesame oil to cook the shrimp for more flavor.
Garlic: I use finely minced garlic for the best flavour.
Fresh ginger: Use finely minced ginger, giving an excellent flavour.
For The Sweet And Sour Sauce, I use honey, cider vinegar, soy sauce, Ketchup, tomato paste, I also use cornstarch to thicken the sauce and I season the sauce with garlic powder and onion powder.
Sesame seeds: I like to garnish this dish with sesame seeds.
Step By Step Instructions
One - Make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk cider vinegar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce and tomato paste.
Two: In a small cup, whisk corn-starch and water well.
Three - Cook the shrimp: Pat the shrimp dry with a clean kitchen towel, then season with salt, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper.
Four: Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a wok or large skillet, then add the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 1 minute, then flip on the other side and cook for another minute. Transfer the shrimp to a plate or bowl and set them aside.
Tip: Make sure you don’t overcook the shrimp as the texture can become rubbery. Shrimp takes the least time to cook, whatever may be the size of it.
Five: Now, add the bell pepper slices into the wok and stir fry for 1 minute, then add garlic and ginger and keep cooking for another minute.
Six: Pour in the sauce mixture and the corn starch mixture, constantly stir until the sauce thicken.
Seven: Add the cooked shrimp and the pineapple chunks, mix well with the sauce then turn off the heat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve warm.
Variations
- You can add more veggies such as broccoli, bok choy, or peas.
- You can use tomato sauce instead of store-bought ketchup.
- Instead of honey, you can also use maple syrup as a substitute.
- For a spicier version, you may add more pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
Serving suggestions
The most popular dish to serve it with is white/brown rice. However, here are a few more options that you can serve this dish with:
- Easy Baba Ganoush recipe
- Spicy roasted cauliflower
- Herb Roasted potatoes
- Homemade coleslaw salad
- Lemon garlic potato salad
Storage
I keep leftover in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. However, if you like to freeze it, it will last for 3-4 months when stored in an airtight container.
More Chinese recipes
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Chinese Sweet And Sour Shrimp
Ingredients
- 500 g shrimp , peeled
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 red bell pepper , chopped
- 6 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , minced
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
The sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk cider vinegar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, and tomato paste.
- In a small cup, whisk cornstarch and water well.
- Pat the shrimp dry with a kitchen towel, then season with salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper.
- Heat the cooking oil and sesame oil on a wok, or large skillet, then add the shrimp in a single layer, cook for 1 minute, then flip on the other side and cook for another minute. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set them aside.
- Now, add the bell pepper slices into the wok and stir fry for 1 minute, then add garlic and ginger and keep cooking for another minute.
- Pour in the sauce mixture and the cornstarch mixture, constantly stir until the sauce thicken.
- Next, add the cooked shrimp and the pineapple chunks, mix well with the sauce then turn off the heat.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and serve warm.
Sophia says
I loved this shrimp recipe so much; it was delicious. Thanks for sharing it.
Isabella says
Delicious and yummy shrimp recipe; I have never cook shrimp this way before and the dish turned out so good. The sweet and sour sauce was amazing too. All my family loved it.