Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp

This Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp has peanuts, scallions and lime juice, red pepper flakes, fish sauce, rice vinegar and sugar.

This shrimp takes less than 10 minutes to make and can be served with pad thai, lo mein or fried rice. The best part of this shrimp is the sauce – the secret? Equal parts light brown sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar.

Vinegar can be off-putting to some, but I promise that the combination with the sugar and the fish sauce is amazing. Feel free to add any roasted veggies as well with this shrimp, like snap peas, roasted red peppers, or baby corn.

If you love shrimp, feel free to try my Honey Lime Shrimp Tacos or my Shrimp Goat Cheese Pasta.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp
• Food safety

Ingredients

You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:

• Shrimp
• Light brown sugar
• Fish sauce
• Rice vinegar
• Roasted peanuts
• Scallions
• Lime juice
• Red pepper flakes
• Sesame seeds

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Pat the shrimp very dry and lightly season with salt and pepper. Make sure they are super dry or else they will extract a ton of liquid.

In a bowl, add together the fish sauce, sugar and vinegar and whisk well.

Heat up a large nonstick skillet and pour in the whisked sauce. On medium-high heat, bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp into the simmer sauce and cook on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Add the peanuts, lime juice, scallions, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Substitutions

Shrimp: For best results, use fresh shrimp and not previously frozen shrimp. Go to your local fish market to get some. Previously frozen shrimp will work, but I recommend using fresh!

Fish Sauce: Some people may be intimidated by using fish sauce, but it is not fishy. I promise it'll add such good flavor. 

Sugar: I used brown sugar for this, although you can use regular sugar. If you are keto, you can use erythritol. 

Vinegar: Rice vinegar is traditionally used for sweet and sour shrimp, although I have used apple cider vinegar before and it works just as well.

Variations

Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.

• Spicy - add more red pepper flakes or chopped fresh jalapeños.
• Deluxe - add the crispy onions for a nice crunch.
• Kid friendly - add shrimp on a taco.

Check out this One-Pot Shrimp Orzo with Harissa and Tahini!

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.

I love using my Caraway pots, pans and baking sheets for best quality. Get yourself a discount by clicking here!

Storage

This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

These Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top tip

Make sure to prep everything before you start cooking.

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Food safety

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.