An easy recipe for a sesame shrimp stir fry that comes together in minutes, literally – this tasty dish takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.
If you like shrimp and enjoy Asian style dishes, I think you will love this super quick and easy recipe. This stir-fry comes together in minutes, literally. It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, so it’s ideal for weeknight dinners.
I normally make keto sesame chicken for my family. But whenever I have shrimp on hand, I opt to make this very flavorful sesame shrimp recipe.
The ingredients you’ll need
I try to keep all my recipes to less than 10 ingredients. The ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe are (exact measurements in the recipe card below):
Light soy sauce: I rarely use traditional soy sauce in my recipes. I just find it too salty. Needless to say, if you need this dish to be gluten-free, you should use an alternative.
Honey: Just one tablespoon. It doesn’t make the dish sweet-tasting. It just balances out the other flavors.
Spices: Garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Make sure they are fresh! A stale spice can easily ruin a dish.
Cornstarch: Just a little to help thicken the sauce.
Avocado oil: This oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point, making it ideal for cooking.
Shrimp: I use large shrimp, peeled and deveined. The tails can be on or off – it’s purely up to you. It’s best to use sustainable shrimp if possible.
Garnishes: Sesame oil, sesame seeds, and scallions.
Forgot to thaw your shrimp? No problem!
I love shrimp and always have bags of frozen shrimps in the freezer. If I remember to defrost the shrimp the night before, that’s best of course.
But even if I need to defrost them in a bowl of cold water prior to cooking, it adds just 10 minutes to this recipe.
How to make sesame shrimp stir fry
Scroll down for the recipe card to read the complete instructions. The basic steps:
Mix the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
Cook the shrimp. Now partially cook the shrimp in some oil. This should take about 4 minutes.
Finish the dish. Your final step is to add the sauce to the pan and finish cooking the shrimp, 2 more minutes. That’s it! Dinner is served.
How to serve this dish
Pre my low carb days, I would have served it over steamed rice. These days, I serve it over cauliflower rice, and it’s just as good.
Sesame shrimp is also great on top of spinach leaves. The hot shrimp wilt the raw spinach leaves just enough to cook them lightly. Delicious and nutritious!
But cornstarch and honey are not low-carb?
It’s true. However, both ingredients add a minimal amount of carbs to the final dish when divided into individual servings, and both really enhance this dish.
So I think it’s worth it, although this is obviously a personal decision and you may rightly disagree.
What about leftovers?
You can keep leftover sesame shrimp in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to 3 days. Reheat them gently, in the microwave, on 50% power.
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Sesame Shrimp
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tablespoons light soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative and add salt as needed)
- 1 tablespoon honey (or a low carb alternative)*
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (or potato starch)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions, green parts
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp. Stir fry until almost completely opaque, about 4 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the soy sauce mixture. Continue to stir-fry until shrimp are completely opaque and sauce is thickened, about 2 more minutes.
- Divide the shrimp among dinner plates. Ladle the sauce on top. Drizzle with sesame oil, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve immediately.
NOTES
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.