Quick & Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp

Name: Quick & Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp
Prep time: 22 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 lb jumbo shrimp (peeled and deveined); 4 egg whites; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 2/3 cup cornstarch (or sub with potato starch, tapioca starch, or sweet rice flour); 1 cup vegetable oil (or any neutral oil for frying); 1/4 cup Japanese mayo (aka Kewpie Mayo (or sub with normal mayo)); 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (or condensed coconut milk for dairy-free version); 2 tbsp honey; 1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed); 1/2 cup walnut (halves ); 3 tbsp white granulated sugar (or sub with brown sugar); 1 tbsp water (cold); 1 green onion (finely chopped)

Jump to Recipe Video

Crispy shrimp coated in a creamy sweet sauce with crunchy candied walnuts. This quick and easy honey walnut shrimp is ready in 30 minutes with simple ingredients. This beats Chinese takeout saving you money and is fantastic for the family!

Jump to:

Ingredients & Substitutes
Expert Tips
Instructions
Storage
Pairing Suggestions
FAQ
Other recipes you may enjoy
📖 Recipe
💬 Reviews

Honey Walnut Shrimp (蜜汁合桃虾) is made of juicy fried shrimp coated in a sweet creamy sauce with the wonderful crunch from the walnuts. It has the perfect balance of textures!

This is a main served at many Chinese restaurants and American-Chinese restaurants, like Panda Express. It's best served over steamed rice and veggies!

The original recipe comes from Hong Kong. It's commonly served at Chinese wedding banquets over blanched vibrant green broccoli and it was my favourite dish of the course menu!

I remember eyeing that sweet crispy shrimp as I eagerly turned that lazy susan, so I knew I had to develop my own version! This is a quick shrimp recipe that comes together with minimal ingredients and it's surprisingly easy to make at home.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.

Green onion: optional garnish

For the Shrimp

Jumbo shrimp or Large shrimp: get the pre-peeled and deveined shrimp to make the preparation process easier! Fresh or frozen shrimp both work. Avoid small or colossal size shrimp. As for breeds, I recommend Black Tiger Shrimp or Pacific White but use what you have!
Egg Whites: we'll be using egg whites only, instead of whole eggs. Save the yolks for another recipe or for an omelet!
Salt & Black pepper
Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch, tapioca starch, or sweet rice flour aka mochiko flour
Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. We want to use oils with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.

Sauce

Kewpie mayo: aka as creamy Japanese mayo. Or substitute with normal mayo as a last resort. You can usually purchase Kewpie mayo at many Asian grocery stores and it comes in a clear plastic squeeze bottle with a red cap.
Condensed milk: If you're dairy-free, substitute with condensed coconut milk. You can find this product at select grocers or sometimes online on Amazon.
Liquid Honey: avoid using any flavored honeys.
Lemon juice: this balances the sauce by giving it some acid and tartness.

Candied Walnuts

Walnuts: I recommend buying Walnut Halves to make life easier! Most grocery stores sell these cracked and halved. I would recommend sourcing these than cracking whole walnuts which will take additional time and effort.
White granulated sugar: or substitute with brown sugar to create a simple syrup. As a last resort, you may use coconut sugar or cane sugar.
Cold Water

Expert Tips

Prepare all the ingredients in advance as the cooking process is quick.
Use a non-stick pan when making the candied walnuts, it'll make clean up much easier!
Work quickly when coating the walnuts in the syrup as both components can easily burn and adjust the temperature if needed.
Spread out the coated walnuts on parchment paper or they will stick together making it difficult to mix with the sauce and shrimp.
Wait for the oil to become hot enough before frying, ideally a temperature of 350 degrees F or when bubbles form when you insert a wooden utensil into the hot oil.
Deep fry the shrimp in small batches and don't overcrowd the pan because this will lower the oil temperature leading to less crispy shrimp.
Double fry the shrimp a second time for 30-45 seconds or until crispier for an even crispier shrimp.
Drain the fried shrimp on a wire rack or a paper-towel lined plate to remove excess oil which leads to soggy shrimp.
To keep the shrimp crispy, you can serve the shrimp and sauce separately and dip shrimp in sauce when you're ready to enjoy.

Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make honey walnut shrimp:

In a small bowl, combine Sauce ingredients. Set aside.

In a non-stick pan on medium heat, add sugar followed by water. Stirring constantly, bring to a simmer.

Once the syrup thickens and can coat the back of your spatula, quickly add walnuts. Mix to coat evenly.

Once the syrup thickens and can coat the back of your spatula, quickly add walnuts. Quickly mix to coat evenly.

Once coated and a crust has formed around each walnut, immediately remove pan off the heat and remove candied walnuts one by one with tongs and transfer to parchment paper spreading them apart. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add peeled and deveined shrimp, season with salt and black pepper. (If your shrimp isn't peeled or deveined, follow my instructions below in the FAQ section on how to do that).

In a separate large bowl, add egg whites and whisk until foamy. They should just be foamy, not like a meringue. Add cornstarch and mix until you have a runny paste.

Add seasoned shrimp and mix well until shrimp is coated in batter with tongs or chopsticks.

Heat vegetable oil or any neutral oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Once it’s hot (around 350-375 degrees F), fry shrimp in small batches for 2-3 minutes until crispy and a golden brown color develops. Do not overcrowd the pan.

Remove shrimp from hot oil with a slotted spoon or tongs and transfer to wire rack or paper towel lined baking sheet to drain off excess oil.

In a large bowl, add crispy shrimp, candied walnuts, followed by sauce. Toss everything together. Garnish with green onions.

Storage

This dish is best consumed same day but leftovers can last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, bake in the oven or air fry at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes until hot but monitor this you won't want to burn the sauce. You can also microwave it for 2-3 minutes.
Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing honey walnut shrimp as the coating will become soggy.

Pairing Suggestions

Honey walnut shrimp serves well with:

starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, or plain noodles
cooked vegetables like broccoli with garlic sauce, bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
other protein dishes like Mongolian Chicken, Honey Sesame Chicken, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!

FAQ

Can I make this in advance?

This dish is best consumed immediately as shrimp won't taste as fresh over time but it can be made 2-3 days in advance. I recommend storing the sauce separate from the crispy shrimp and candied walnuts. To enjoy, reheat the shrimp in an oven, air fryer at 350 F for 5-7 minutes or microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot. Then mix the fried shrimp with the sauce and the walnuts.

How do I devein shrimp?

Start by peeling the shell off from underneath where the legs are and working my way towards the tail. With a sharp knife (ideally a paring knife), make a slight slit on the back side of the shrimp opposite to the feet where you see a faint black line. Careful not to cut too deeply or you'll burst it. Once the black line is exposed, use the tip of your knife or toothpick to remove it. Rinse the shrimp under cold water to clean it.

Why did my candied walnuts burn?

The syrup contains a high sugar content which can cause for it to burn so it's important to work quickly here. After the syrup thickens, immediately toss in the walnuts, coat them and once they form a crust remove from the pan.

Can I air fry the shrimp?

I don't recommend air frying the shrimp for this recipe because the batter is wet and runny and will drip off the shrimp into the air fryer basket producing different results.

Other recipes you may enjoy

📖 Recipe