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Sweet and sour shrimp is a colorful and satisfying main dish that your whole family will love! The crispy shrimp and crunchy peppers are brought together with a fragrant sweet and sour sauce. It’s easy to put together and tastes perfect over steamed rice for dinner. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

Sweet and Sour Shrimp (糖醋虾)

By Maggie Zhu
4 from 1 vote
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Sweet and sour shrimp is a colorful and satisfying main dish that your whole family will love! The crispy shrimp and crunchy peppers are brought together with a fragrant sweet and sour sauce. It’s easy to put together and tastes perfect over steamed rice for dinner. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
To make the dish gluten free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use tamari to replace the light soy sauce.

Ingredients

Marinating

  • 1 lb (450 g) shrimp , peeled and deveined
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger , grated
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Stir Fry

  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil (*Footnote 1)
  • 1 small thumb ginger , julienned
  • 1/2 white onion , diced
  • 1 bell pepper , diced (or red pepper) (I used a mix of both)

Instructions

  • Add the shrimp, salt, and Shaoxing wine into a medium-sized bowl, mix well. Let marinate while preparing other ingredients.
  • Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.
  • When you’re ready to cook, add the cornstarch to the marinated shrimp, and toss it to coat it completely.
  • Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until hot. Shake the excess cornstarch off the shrimp and spread the pieces into the pan without overlapping. Cook without touching until the bottom is browned, 2 minutes or so. Flip to cook the other side until browned. Transfer to a big plate to let it cool.
  • If your pan doesn’t have enough oil, add 1 tablespoon of oil. If you used more oil to fry the shrimp, remove the excess oil using paper towels. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add the ginger. Stir a few times to release the fragrance.
  • Add the onion. Cook and stir until the onion just starts to soften, 2 minutes or so.
  • Add the pepper. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
  • Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely, and pour it into the pan. Cook until the sauce is fully thickened.
  • Add back the shrimp and turn off the heat. Toss to coat the shrimp with sauce. Then transfer to a serving plate. Serve hot as a main or with steamed rice.

Notes

  1. For a crispier result, use a bit more oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Pan fry the shrimp until golden and they will become quite crispy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 222kcal, Carbohydrates: 21.5g, Protein: 5.4g, Fat: 7.2g, Saturated Fat: 1.3g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 572mg, Potassium: 152mg, Fiber: 0.9g, Sugar: 10.3g, Calcium: 26mg