Chinese Prawn Stir Fry makes a great start to any meal. It’s tender, full of flavor, and packed with protein.
You won’t need any fancy ingredients in this recipe, but it beats your typical Chinese takeout by a mile!
Prawns (Shrimp) Stir Fry
About this Recipe
Prawns (aka shrimp), with their delicate and sweet meat, are a favorite for many.
In China, they’re often paired with ginger, garlic, and spring onions to make this delightful dish. When fried in hot oil with soy sauce and rice wine, prawns deliver an irresistible flavor that’s simply hard to resist.
This is my favorite way to cook prawns. I often fry them with the shells on, which can be a bit messy but really enjoyable. You can peel off the shells if you prefer a cleaner eating experience.
What is the secret to a great stir-fry
- High heat and oil: Stir-frying is like mini deep frying. Lots of oil over the high heat to seal the food quickly and retain the moisture inside. The sauce is caramelized and the surface of the food is slightly burned like BBQ.
- Not stirring too much: The heat in the home kitchen is hardly as high as in a professional kitchen. Once all the ingredients are mixed it is therefore vital to not stir too much, but instead to allow the food to seal on every side.
Ingredients for this Chinese prawn stir-fry
- Prawns / Shrimp: I used frozen whole tiger prawns, completely thawed before cooking. unpeeled, but leave the heads on as there are lots of flavors coming out of the heads. You can remove the heads for easy eating. The whole prawns are much more flavourful than the pre-peeled or precooked ones.
- Soy Sauce: Prawns are naturally salty. But their salty levels can be different. Adjust the amount of soy sauce to your liking.
- Ginger: We usually don’t eat ginger in the dish. However, if you enjoy it, you can thinly slice the ginger into strips to ensure it’s not too spicy.
FAQs
Q: Can I use cooked prawns/shrimp in a stir-fry?
A: You can use cooked prawns in stir fry, but I would not recommend doing so. Cooked prawns are often dry, and not as juicy as fresh ones. There isn’t much flavor coming out of cooked prawns to mix with sauce and other ingredients.
Q: I don’t have rice wine. Can I use something else?
A: If you don’t have rice wine, you can substitute it with white wine.
Q: What to serve with Prawn Stir Fry?
A: You can serve it with rice or as the topping for the noodle soup. The sauce in the dish can mix in with rice or noodles, or be part of your salad dressing.
Other prawn/shrimp recipes
Preparation is key here. Make sure you’ve peeled, chopped, and measured all your ingredients within easy reach.
Open the windows and switch on the range hood for better ventilation.
You are all ready to go, for a delicious and healthy dish with a WOW factor! 🙂
Prawn Stir Fry (Shrimp)
Ingredients
- 500 g Whole prawns (peeled, deveined and drain out the water)
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 2-3 spring onion (chopped and separate the green and white parts)
- 3 slices ginger
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce (adjust to your liking)
- 3 tablespoon rice wine
Instructions
- Add oil, ginger, the white part of spring onions, and garlic in a non-stick pan over medium heat, and fry until they are slightly golden.
- Turn up the heat and add soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice wine, and prawns. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until prawns are completely cooked through.
- Stir in the green part of the spring onion, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of rice wine and turn off the heat. Serve with rice or noodles.
Recipe Notes:
- Prawns: I used frozen whole tiger prawns, completely thawed before cooking. unpeeled, but leave the heads on as there are lots of flavors coming out of the heads. You can remove the heads for easy eating. The whole prawns are much more flavourful than the pre-peeled or precooked ones.
- Soy Sauce: Prawns are naturally salty. But their salty levels can be different. Adjust the amount of soy sauce to your liking.
- Ginger: We usually don’t eat ginger in the dish but if you like it, cut the ginger thin stripes so they are not too spicy.
Nutrition Information:
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