If you love delicious, quick and easy dinners then this Takeout Style Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry recipe is perfect for you.
It takes less than 10 minutes to make, tastes amazing and uses grocery store ingredients, plus get my top tips for the takeaway taste at home!!
Serve it with fried rice for a takeout style treat, or go healthy with veggies and steamed brown rice. Or add noodles for a different ginger shrimp dinner!
Watch how to make Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry (VIDEO)
How to make ginger shrimp stir fry
You can see in the recipe video above just how fast this stir fry cooks so the key here is to work quickly, this dish takes just a few minutes to make.
Have everything prepped before you start cooking: this means, make the sauce in a measuring cup/jug and have it ready to add. Chop the green onions, slice the garlic cloves and grate or mince the ginger.
Once everything is prepared the oil is heated in a frying pan or skillet and once shimmeringly hot, the green onions are added. They give the cooking oil that unmistakable takeout taste!
Then the shrimp are added and cooked for just a couple of minutes on each side. Add in the ginger and garlic, then stir to release the aromatics but don't let them burn over the high heat.
Give the sauce a final good stir and add it to the pan moving everything together to coat. The sauce will instantly thicken and you are ready to serve.
How to Make a Thick Stir Fry Sauce?
The thick and unctuous sauce that comes with your favorite takeout can be recreated at home with a simple store cupboard ingredient! Cornstarch (called cornflour in many parts of the world)
Cornstarch will quickly thicken any sauce without lumps and because it doesn't have any taste it doesn't alter the end flavor! Result!
The way to use cornstarch/cornflour is to mix it with cold liquid first. Then when this is added to hot ingredients it will thicken quickly. This is why the recipe specifies cold broth/stock, the cornstarch will mix together without forming any lumps.
I like a much thinner sauce for my stir fry
If you aren't a fan of the thick stirfry coating takeaway style sauces then you can add extra broth/stock to this recipe if you want lots of thinner sauce or reduce the quantity of cornstarch if you just want a thinner sauce.
I recommend an additional ¾ cup of broth or to reduce the cornstarch down to 1 tablespoon.
What is Chinese cooking wine?
Chinese Cooking Wine is also known as Chinese Rice Wine, Shaohsing Rice Cooking Wine, Shaoxing wine or Shaoxing Cooking Wine. You can find this in most grocery stores in the Asian section. Just don’t get it confused with rice wine vinegar as that will ruin your stir fry!!! If you can’t find Chinese Cooking Wine, you can use dry sherry.
How to prep for shrimp stir fry
As mentioned above you want everything prepared in advance as this is a quick cook. Don't worry that doesn't mean lots of little bowls to wash up.
Peel and chop the vegetables on a chopping board and then just push them each to one side so you can easily add them when needed.
The scallion/green onion want to be chopped into 2 inch lengths. The garlic wants to be peeled and thinly sliced as there is less chance of it burning this way. And the ginger wants to be peeled and then grated or finely minced - this allows the flavor to really get into the sauce.
Use a measuring cup or jug to mix the sauce ingredients together, this makes it easy to add to the skillet when you are ready.
Do you need a wok to make a shrimp stir fry?
I recommend using a large heavy-based frying pan or skillet instead of a wok. This is because the flat bottomed frying pan/skillet will have the maximum amount of base touching the burner and give you the best chance of really high heat to cook your stir fry at. (You can read more about that in my Beef and Broccoli post)
What to serve with Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry
I love to serve this with white rice, but you could add stir fried noodles, steamed veg or serve it over a low carb option like this Coconut Ginger Cauliflower Rice from Alyssa at Everyday Maven.
But whatever you pick, have your side ready to go as the stir fry takes just minutes to make!
TOP TIP: Have your rice/noodles/veg cooked and covered ready to serve.
Enjoy x
If you love takeout style meals then check out:
- Beef and Broccoli
- Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry
- Happy Family Stir Fry
- Beef and Tomato
- Wandering Dragon Stir Fry
- Chicken and Snow Peas
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Get the Recipe
Takeout Style Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
For the stir fry
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 6 green onions/spring onions
- 1 lb shrimp - peeled & cleaned - see note 1
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger - see note 2
- 3 cloves garlic - finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
For the sauce
- 1 ¼ cup cold broth chicken/veg/shrimp
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 ½ tablespoon Chinese cooking wine - see note 3
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 ½ tablespoon cornstarch/cornflour
Instructions
Start by making the sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients into a large measuring cup/jug an stir well. Ensure the broth is cold to stop the cornstarch from clumping.
For the stir fry
- Pour the oil into a heavy-based frying pan and place over high heat.
- Whilst the oil is heating up remove the roots from the green onions and chop them into 2-inch (5cm) length chunks.
- Add the green onions to the oil (be careful it can spit) and stir fry them for 2 minutes to flavor the oil.
- Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
- Add in the grated ginger and sliced garlic. Stir constantly for a minute.
- Give the prepared sauce another stir and then pour it into the pan. The sauce will thicken quickly so stir it to coat your stir fry. (see note 4).
- Sprinkle the shrimp with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Frozen shrimp are perfect here, just make sure they are fully defrosted and drained well.
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger comes from around a 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger. I like to keep ginger in my freezer to keep it fresh. (plus it is easier to grate!)
- You can buy Chinese cooking wine in the Asian section of the grocery store, but if you can’t find it then you can use dry sherry. (See bulk of post for more information on Chinese Cooking Wine)
- The sauce thickens quickly to that real thick Chinese takeout style sauce. If you aren't a fan of the thick coating takeaway style sauces then you can add an extra ¾ cup of broth/stock to this recipe if you want lots of thinner sauce or reduce the quantity of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon if you just want a thinner sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Karman says
This Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry recipe is so good. Using authentic ingredients in cooking is just different!
Ashley says
We made this for dinner and it's so much better than take out. Thanks for sharing!
Dara Michalski says
Not only was this delicious, but I love how easy it was to make! Always a go-to meal on crazy nights.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it Dara. And I agree quick stir frys (that don't need ten ton of chopping) are a weeknight life saver!
Jordan says
I love a good EASY stir fry! This one looks so quick and simple. Plus I love shrimp, so it's a total no-brainer!
Sara says
This would make for a great family meal with fresh veggies from the market. My grocer had huge bags of shrimp on sale last week for under $5 so I bought several to stock up. Now I know what to make with them!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I do hope you enjoyed it Sara, it is a fav of mine....well all takeout style recipes are 😉
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life says
I may not be able to eat shrimp, but I still think this looks awfully tasty! I'll definitely be passing this along to my husband who adores shrimp AND ginger.
Amy says
Wow! This looks better than takeout! All the delicious flavors—especially the ginger really make the shrimp pop! Thanks for the recipe.
Eden says
We love stir fry so it was fun to make this recipe. My family loved it! I think it would be great with chicken too!
Marisa F. Stewart says
It's decided!! This is our dinner tomorrow night. Ginger and Shrimp belong together and put over rice is just the finish that's needed to soak up that delicious sauce. Running to the store now to get my supplies.
Jacqueline Debono says
Love that this ginger shrimp is so quick and easy to make, yet full of flavour! Great weeknight meal!
Jess says
Wow! This shrimp recipe looks and sounds amazing! You had me at "less than 10 minutes" and kept me drooling with all these delicious pictures. I can't wait to try it out!
Jenni LeBaron says
I love takeout ginger shrimp and I love this recipe even more because I can make it at home and make it healthier. The honey in the sauce is a perfect substitute for the sugar-laden sauces you get with takeout. Can't wait to try this!
Sharon says
This shrimp dish that I can make right at home without having to order out sounds amazing!
Julie says
This looks so good! I especially love how you use both white and black sesame seeds - it gives such a great visual pop to your photos. Beautiful!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Yum! Loving this Takeout Style Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry right now! Perfect for everyone who has no enough time making dinner. I love that it's delicious and quick to make.