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Love Bold Flavors? This Szechuan Shrimp Stir-Fry Is a Must-Try. This 20-Minute Shrimp Stir-Fry Packs a Flavor Punch, made with the most delicious Szechuan sauce recipe that will also work well with chicken or beef. Get dinner on the table in as little as 20 minutes.
This Szechuan Shrimp has been my go-to recipe lately, and my kids love it as well. They are perfect for meal prep with some quinoa and a dish you are going to want to make again and again. A classic Chinese dish with a hint of garlic, ginger, sweet, savory, and spicy flavors in one dish. This shrimp stir-fry will work great for meal prepping as well.
My kids equally love this kung pao shrimp, which we alternate every week.
Recipe Overview
Tips before you get started
- Pat shrimp dry with paper towels before cooking so they sear instead of steaming.
- If you have a wok, use it for the best texture and flavor. I recommend cooking on high heat. Preheat the pan until it’s almost smoking so the shrimp cook quickly and stay tender.
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. All you need is 2–3 minutes for the shrimp to cook fully. Once they turn pink and curl into a “C” shape, remove them from the pan to avoid a rubbery texture.
- Use fresh ingredients as much as possible. Like garlic, ginger, green onions, and veggies.
How to make Szechuan Shrimp
Here is my step-by-step process on how I made this dish.
1️⃣ Make the Szechuan sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients, then set aside. (¼ Cup reduced-sodium Sodium Soy Sauce, 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup, 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar, 2 Garlic Cloves, 2 teaspoons Sriracha Sauce, ½ teaspoon Chili Flakes, ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder, ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger or ginger Powder, and ½ tablespoon Cornstarch)
2️⃣ Sear the veggies
Heat 1 tablespoon of Sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat, then add 2 Bell Peppers, 1 ½ Cup Snap Peas, and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.
✏️ Mix and match the veggies here and use up what you have in the fridge.
3️⃣ Add the shrimp
Stir in 1 ½ pounds Raw Jumbo Shrimp and continue to stir fry for 2 minutes, or until shrimp starts to curl.
✏️ Don’t like shrimp? Use chicken, beef, salmon bites, or tofu.
4️⃣ Add sauce, cook, and serve
Add in the Szechuan sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes more, until the shrimp is fully cooked through and the sauce thickens.
Sprinkle with chopped 6 Green Onions and 1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds and serve. Enjoy!
✏️ Serve with white rice or quinoa. For a low-carb option, use cauliflower rice. Here is a great cauliflower rice recipe you can use.
Common questions
Use any other protein of your choice, like chicken or beef. For a vegetarian option, use tofu.
Absolutely. Use any other veggies you like, such as zucchini, green beans, or broccoli.
If you have leftovers, store them in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes. If you have leftovers, store them in a container and freeze for up to 2 months.
You can make a similar blend at home. Try the following: use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground anise seeds, 1/4 tsp ground fennel (or cumin as a backup), and A pinch of black pepper or chili flakes.
You may also like
- Easy Sesame Ginger Shrimp Stir-fry Recipe
- Baked Cashew Chicken
- Healthy Kung Pao Chicken
- Shrimp Stir fry Noodles
- Asian Shrimp Zucchini Noodles Recipe
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Szechuan Shrimp Stir Fry (Better Than Takeout)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Raw Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil, or Vegetable oil
- 2 Bell Peppers , different colors, chopped
- 1 ½ Cup Snap Peas
- 6 Green Onions, sliced to 1.5-inch pieces, plus more to garnish
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds
For the Szechuan sauce:
- ¼ Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup, or agave
- 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 2 Garlic Cloves, fresh, minced
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha Sauce, or any hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon Chili Flakes
- ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder, see note
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Ginger , or ginger powder
- ½ tablespoon Cornstarch
Instructions
- Start by making the Szechuan sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients, then set aside. (¼ Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce, 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup, 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar, 2 Garlic Cloves, 2 teaspoons Sriracha Sauce, ½ teaspoon Chili Flakes, ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder, ½ teaspoon Fresh Ginger , and ½ tablespoon Cornstarch)
- Heat 1 tablespoon Sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat, then add 2 Bell Peppers , 1 ½ Cup Snap Peas, and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in 1 ½ pounds Raw Jumbo Shrimp and continue to stir fry for 2 minutes, or until shrimp starts to curl.
- Add in the Szechuan sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes more, until the shrimp is fully cooked through and the sauce thickens.
- Sprinkle with chopped 6 Green Onions and 1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- To replace the Chinese 5 spice powder: use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground anise seeds, 1/4 tsp ground fennel (or cumin as a backup), and A pinch of black pepper or chili flakes.
- Use raw shrimp and not pre-cooked.
- You can always use different veggies like broccoli and zucchini.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This will be a once a month atleast recipe for me! Man it’s so good, I kid you not… make it, eat it, and….SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!
Excellent recipe! (with just a few suggestions).
To me, most of the the time, less is more.
I get really disgusted with Asian Restaurants that think it is OK to drown out a great dish with mushy vegetables! So don’t overdo this dish with too many different veggies!
First off, prep this well ahead of time. It will save you a lot of stress and aid you in the enjoyment of fixing this and enjoying it!
I used green and red peppers, diced green onions, quartered white onions and asparagus tips for my veggies. Also, making the sauce ahead of time is a good idea as the ingredients tend to meld and enhance the flavors. The Chinese five spice is a must and if you have Szechwan peppercorns use them! They will add that exotic flavor every great cook wants in a dish like this. (I ordered mine from Amazon).
My sauce was made from fresh garlic, fresh Ginger, a dash of red pepper flakes, Rice vinegar, soy sauce, siracha, Brown sugar and Chinese five spice. (I also added 1/2 cup of chicken broth and a teaspoon of corn starch to thicken. I set aside the sauce for several hours in the fridge.
In my opinion, this recipe did not provide enough sauce to adequately coat the ingredients and make a complete and thoroughly tasty dish. (I always enjoy more sauce than not enough!). I fixed Jasmine rice ahead of time and reheated it before serving.
The Shrimp were cooked first in peanut oil and set aside. With the remaining oil and juice from the shrimp, I added fresh garlic for a minute, added the peppers and onions and asparagus, (stir fried for one minute),
Then put the shrimp back in and added the chopped green onions. Add the prepared sauce and stir-fry for another minute. Caution; do NOT overcook the vegetables! If you do, they will lose color, flavor and crunch!
Garnish with remaining chopped green onions and serve Steaming hot. Enjoy!
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Thanks for all the suggestions. Glad you liked it
Excellent!
Thanks Debbie.
Delicious!! Wouldnt change a thing
Thanks Debbie