Thai Garlic Fried Shrimp. A quick, easy, flavourful and spicy shrimp dish stir fried with red chili, garlic and other delicious aromatics and seasoning. Ready in 15 minutes!
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This scrumptious and easy spicy garlic Thai shrimp dish is fantastic for am easy weeknight meal as a main dish as it takes little time to prepare. The succulent shrimp is packed with flavor and it will literally make your eyes roll to the back of your head as they taste so good!
My Thai style shrimp stir fry is super easy to make with minimal ingredients! The preparation process is simple where you're coating the shrimp in cornstarch and frying it until crispy. Then stir-frying it with aromatics and seasoning ingredients - that's it!
There are many Thai garlic shrimp recipes online but this one is best one yet - Iβm not joking. Itβs so good, I almost devoured the entire plate alone. It's perfectly balanced in flavour thanks to the sugar and fish sauce. Totally worth trying if you're a shrimp lover!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.Β
- Jumbo shrimp or extra jumbo: fresh or frozen shrimp both work fine for this. Get the easy-peel deveined kind to make life easier! Avoid using smaller shrimp for this recipe.
- Green onion
- Red chili pepper
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch
- Neutral oil:Β like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.
- Fish sauce
- Sesame oil
- White granulated sugar
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
Expert Tips
- Get easy-peel deveined shrimps to make things easier! You can leave the tails on if you wish.
- Get jumbo shrimp for this recipe and avoid using smaller sizes. For very juicy shrimp, get black tiger shrimp!
- Use fresh quality ingredients. This will make a big difference in the taste of the stir fry.
- Fry that shrimp until itβs totally pink, curled and crispy on both sides. But be careful not to fry over high heat, keep it to a medium flame. Do not cover the shrimp as they fry, this will make them less crispy.
How to makeΒ Thai Garlic Shrimp
Peel Shrimp
Peel away the shrimp shell. Rinse peeled shrimp under cold water and shake out any excess water. If the shrimp is not deveined, make sure to devein them by making a small slit on the back of the shrimp and using a toothpick to remove the black vein. Feel free to leave the tails on if youβd like.
Pat Dry
Transfer the shrimp to a bowl. Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel.
Coat Shrimp with Starch
Then add cornstarch and mix until each shrimp is coated in cornstarch. There will be residual starch in the bowl.
Fry Shrimp
Heat 3 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once oil is hot, carefully lower shrimp into the pan and fry on both sides just until pink, curled, and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook!
Fry Aromatics
Remove and transfer cooked shrimp to a plate. Into the same pan over medium heat, add remaining oil followed by red chili pepper, green onions, shallot, garlic and ginger. Fry for 20 seconds.
Toss in Shrimp with Seasoning
Add back in shrimp, followed by sugar first, then fish sauce and sesame oil. Give it a toss. Remove off heat and serve hot to enjoy!
Other Shrimp recipes you may like!
- Bang Bang Shrimp
- Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Shrimp Tempura
- Gochujang Honey Shrimp
- Chinese Salt And Pepper Shrimp
π Recipe
Easy 15-min. Thai Garlic Fried Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo shrimp
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 1 large red chili pepper finely sliced
- 1 shallot sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 slices ginger thin slices
- β cup cornstarch or potato starch (add another tablespoon if needed)
- ΒΌ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Peel away the shrimp shell. Rinse peeled shrimp under cold water and shake out any excess water. If the shrimp is not deveined, make sure to devein them by making a small slit on the back of the shrimp and using a toothpick to remove the black vein. Feel free to leave the tails on if youβd like.
- Transfer the shrimp to a bowl. Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel.
- Then add cornstarch and mix until each shrimp is coated in cornstarch. There will be residual starch in the bowl.
- Heat 3 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once oil is hot, carefully lower shrimp into the pan and fry on both sides just until pink, curled, and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook!
- Remove and transfer cooked shrimp to a plate. Into the same pan over medium heat, add remaining oil followed by red chili pepper, green onions, shallot, garlic and ginger. Fry for 20 seconds.
- Add back in shrimp, followed by sugar first, then fish sauce and sesame oil. Give it a toss. Remove off heat and serve hot to enjoy!
Michelle
Easy to follow and tastes great! I put some chili flakes for extra spice afterwords. Great recipe overall π
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Michelle! So thrilled that you enjoyed it with the chili flakes π
Ana
My first time on your blog. I thought this recipe was perfection! I only had red pepper flakes, leftover grated ginger, and a regular ole onion but it turned out great. Such a wonderful balance of flavors. I was making it for myself because my husband "wasn't hungry"...until it was done and the delicious garlicky smell filled the house. I had some day old rice in the fridge too and the leftover oil at the end made some KILLER garlic fried rice...looking forward to trying another one of your recipes!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Ana! I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed it! That garlic fried rice sounds incredible too. I hope you enjoy my other recipes!
Sonia
My husband never eats shrimp, but he went back for seconds with this recipe. So easy to make and for once, I had all of the ingredients at hand. This will be my go to shrimp recipe from here out.
christieathome
I am so happy to hear that I could help him to finally enjoy shrimp! That's so awesome! Thank you for making my recipe, Sonia! I am so glad you enjoyed it π
Lynette
Loved this Recipe! We had Valentines Day dinner with the family, and was onevofvtgevstar dishes, thank you
christieathome
Amazing to hear! Glad you enjoyed it with your family and thanks for making it for Valentine's Day!
Mandi
This recipe is amazing and so easy to make. My friends and family loved it! Making it again tonight. Definitely my favorite shrimp recipe. Thanks!!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Mandi! I am so glad your family and friends loved it π Have a lovely day!
Liz Edlich
Husband said this is the best shrimp heβs ever had! And so easy! Thank you! β€οΈ
christieathome
So happy to read that Liz! Thanks for making my recipe and for sharing this kind review π Have a lovely day!
LUCIA
Super easy and so tasty! Will definitely make this again.
christieathome
So happy to read this! Thank you for making my recipe! Have a lovely day!
B
Made this last night. Was excellent! Def would have been even better if I used a wok. Oh, and maybe let the oil heat up more before I put the shrimp in. Lol
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Yes, a wok really makes a huge difference as it adds a smokiness to the dish. If you're looking for a quality wok, I share one that I regularly use on my Shop page if you click here.
Jessica
This was honestly SO GOOD. We did use a Serrano but the flavor was amazing and paired so well with Argentinian shrimp
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Jessica! I'm so glad you enjoyed it π
Nicole
Made this tonight!! Husband lived it!!
christieathome
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for making my recipe Nicole!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Yum, I think I am in shrimp heaven! That was a great tip you gave for looking for black tiger shrimp, I will definitely be looking for them.