Honey Sriracha Shrimp
This honey Sriracha shrimp rice bowl is a quick and easy meal that's packed with sweet, spicy, and savory flavors. Juicy shrimp are coated in a sticky honey sriracha sauce and served over fluffy rice for a homemade meal that comes together in just 20 minutes.
It's one of those easy recipes that's perfect for a busy weeknight, but flavorful enough to satisfy those takeout cravings.
The sauce has the perfect balance of sweetness from the honey, heat from the Sriracha and chili flakes, and savory umami flavor from the soy sauce. A squeeze of lime juice cuts through the sweetness and brings everything together.
If you love the sweet, spicy and savory flavors of Asian food, you might want to try my baked Teriyaki tofu and Kung Pao chicken stir fry recipe too.
Quick Look: Honey Sriracha Shrimp
- 🔪 Prep time: 5 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook time: 15 minutes
- 👪 Servings: 2 servings
- 📋 Main ingredients: Shrimp, garlic, honey, soy sauce, ginger, cornstarch, lime juice and seasonings.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Coat shrimp with soy sauce and cornflour 🡢 sauté ginger and garlic in oil 🡢 cook shrimp until done 🡢 add honey, chili flakes, and lime juice 🡢 cook until glossy and saucy.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Serve over steamed rice as a complete meal, or pair with noodles, vegetables or sides like spicy Asian cucumber salad.
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
- It's a 20-minute meal, making it perfect for busy weeknights, just like my crispy chili chicken.
- The honey Sriracha sauce has the ideal balance of sweet, spicy, tangy, and savory flavors, and I replicated that in my honey Sriracha Brussels sprouts too.
- The shrimp cook quickly, so there's no long marinating or cooking time involved. Plus, you can customize it with your favorite vegetables and toppings.
Recipe Ingredients
Shrimp: Use fresh shrimp that is de-shelled, deveined and has all the excess water removed. Depending on your personal preference, you can use larger shrimp or medium sized ones.
Honey: To balance the heat. I like using habanero hot honey for an extra kick of heat.
Soy sauce: For the umami depth. Use coconut aminos if you want to make the dish gluten-free.
Ginger + garlic: The flavor builders. I like chopping or grating these for a bit of texture, but you can use ginger garlic paste if that's what you have at hand.
Cornstarch: To create a nice coating around the shrimp, and make the sauce nice and thick.
Lime juice: Adds a bit of tanginess to balance out the other flavors. You can also use vinegar if you don't have fresh lime juice.
Seasonings: Some salt, pepper and red pepper flakes- which you can adjust according to your taste preferences. I like to use Sriracha salt for an extra bit of that Sriracha flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- To make the dish more wholesome, you can dice veggies like broccoli, bok choy, baby corn, carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers and add them in along with the shrimp. I did this when I made my Teriyaki veggie stir fry too.
- If you want the honey sriracha shrimp to have some extra flavor, consider marinating it for at least a couple of hours, ideally overnight in the refrigerator.
- If you don't have Sriracha, use a dash of fermented jalapeno hot sauce or any other hot sauce of your choice.
How to Make Honey Sriracha Shrimp
Step 1: Using a microplane, grate the ginger and garlic.
Step 2: Combine the shrimp, soy sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl and set it aside.
Step 3: Heat oil in a skillet and saute the ginger and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for another minute on medium heat, stirring every 10 seconds.
Step 4: Now add the red pepper flakes, honey, seasonings, and lime juice. Add a splash of water to make the consistency saucy. Take off heat once the shrimp is cooked.
💭Top Tip
Looking for an alternative to honey? Maple syrup and brown sugar can be great as sweeteners to balance out the heat from the Sriracha.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- I would highly recommend using sesame oil for this recipe, simply because its flavor works wonderfully with all the other ingredients, and you’ll be able to get those perfect Asian flavors you’re looking for.
- You can try this recipe with another protein too. Salmon and chicken are good choices- just make sure you adjust the cooking time according to the kind of meat you're choosing.
- I’ve used lemon juice for the tanginess, but you can substitute it for a splash of vinegar instead if you want to. I like to use my hot pepper vinegar for extra heat.
- It is best to use a non-stick pan or a cast iron skillet for this recipe. Remember not to overcrowd the pan with too many shrimp at a time. Leave a little space between the shrimp, and cook them on medium heat.
- Once the shrimp turn pink, remove them from heat and transfer them to the bowl. Overcooking shrimp will make them tough and chewy- I realized this when I made my Thai shrimp noodle soup.
- If the sauce on the shrimp seems too dry, you can loosen it up by adding a dash of chicken stock (I love using the liquid leftover after cooking my Asian poached chicken) to it and letting it simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Don’t forget to garnish the honey Sriracha shrimp rice bowl with a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds and some chopped herbs of your choice. I’ve used cilantro, but you can also choose to use scallions if that’s what you have at hand.
- You can also choose to finish things up with a drizzle of some easy scallion ginger oil if you want to!
How to Serve Honey Sriracha Shrimp
You can go the classic way and serve the shrimp over a bowl of rice, and turn it into a complete meal. Team it up with some Asian-style sides like Air Fryer bang bang cauliflower which has a nice creamy undertone that balances the heat from the dish, or a spicy stir fried edamame side which packs in a ton of flavor.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
If you want to have that perfect sauciness to the dish, you can add about half a cup of additional cornflour slurry (a mix of cornflour and water) to thicken the sauce.
While using fresh shrimp is always recommended, you can opt for frozen shrimp instead, if that’s what you have at hand. Just remember to let the peeled and deveined shrimp thaw completely before you use it for the recipe.
More Asian Mains
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this honey Sriracha shrimp or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Honey Sriracha Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound Shrimp peeled & deveined
- 1 tablespoon Garlic freshly grated
- ½ cup Honey
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Ginger freshly grated
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Salt and Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Neutral Oil
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 sprig Cilantro for garnishing
Instructions
- Start by grating the ginger and garlic and get all your ingredients ready. In a small bowl, mix the cleaned shrimp with some soy sauce and cornflour and set it aside for a few minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan or skillet and add the ginger and garlic and saute for a few minutes. Now add the shrimp and cook for 2 additional minutes.
- Now add the honey, chili flakes, lemon juice, and a bit of sriracha and let it cook for 2 more minutes.
- Serve hot on a bowl of steamed rice, topped with a drizzle of Sriracha and some chopped coriander leaves.
Notes
- Pat the shrimp dry before coating them for the best texture and sauce adhesion.
- Don't overcrowd the pan when cooking the shrimp.
- Shrimp cook quickly, so remove them from the heat as soon as they're pink and opaque.
- Adjust the amount of sriracha and chili flakes to suit your preferred spice level.
- Maple syrup or brown sugar can be used instead of honey.
- Add your favorite vegetables to turn this into a more substantial rice bowl.
- Store leftover rice and shrimp separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat gently to prevent the shrimp from becoming tough.
