Chili Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry (33g Protein)

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This is the fastest real dinner I know how to cook. Shrimp and green beans hit a smoking hot wok, a chili garlic sauce goes in at the last minute, and the whole thing lands on the table in about 15 minutes with 33g of protein per serving.

The sauce is jarred chili garlic sauce stretched with soy, sugar, and a cornstarch slurry. Nothing here needs a specialty store, and the wok does most of the work.

Why this works

Shrimp overcooks in about a minute, so the order matters more than the ingredients. Beans go first, alone, until they blister and char in spots. Then the shrimp gets a hard sear, the garlic gets 30 seconds, and the sauce only touches the pan at the very end. Cook everything together from the start and you get steamed shrimp and pale beans sitting in watery sauce.

The other rule: pat the shrimp dry like you mean it. Surface moisture is the difference between a sear and a simmer.

Ingredient notes

Chili garlic sauce is the jarred one with the rooster on it (Huy Fong), and sambal oelek behaves the same way. Two tablespoons is a medium burn; use one for spice-shy eaters. Frozen peeled shrimp are completely fine, and usually better value than the thawed ones at the counter, which were frozen anyway. Fifteen minutes in a bowl of cold water thaws them. Green beans swap cleanly for asparagus or snap peas.

Chili Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry

Hard-seared shrimp and charred green beans tossed in a three-ingredient chili garlic sauce. Faster than delivery.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 255

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 650 g large shrimp, peeled and deveined about 1.5 lb, thawed if frozen
• 400 g green beans, trimmed cut into 2 inch lengths
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce Huy Fong or sambal oelek
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided

Method

 

1. Stir the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch slurry together in a small bowl. Park it next to the stove. Once the wok is hot there is no time to measure.
2. Pat the shrimp very dry with paper towels and season with a small pinch of salt. Dry shrimp sear, wet shrimp steam.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet over the highest heat your stove has, until the oil just starts to smoke. Add the green beans and stir fry 3 to 4 minutes until blistered and spotted brown. Tip them onto a plate.
4. Add the remaining oil. Lay the shrimp in a single layer and leave them alone for 1 minute, then toss for another minute until they are just turning pink.
5. Push the shrimp up the sides, drop the garlic into the middle, and stir 20 to 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
6. Return the beans, pour the sauce in around the edge of the wok, and toss 30 to 60 seconds until everything is glossy and the sauce clings. Serve immediately, over rice if you like.

Tips and storage

Shrimp is the one protein I do not love for meal prep, because it turns rubbery in the microwave. If you are cooking ahead, pull the shrimp at the just-pink stage and reheat in a hot pan for a minute instead. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated.

If you want shrimp without the heat, my garlic butter prawns with rice are the mild counterpoint, and the shrimp pad thai covers the noodle version. For the same hot wok treatment on chicken, see the Thai basil chicken.