Honey Garlic Shrimp

By Lidey Heuck

Published January 30, 2025

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(5,050)
Comments
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This speedy dinner comes together in less than 30 minutes and relies on pantry staples like honey and soy sauce for easy weeknight flavor. The honey-garlic sauce works double-time, serving as a sweet-and-savory marinade and as a pan sauce for the crustaceans. While large shrimp work best for this recipe (and are the most forgiving when it comes to cooking time), smaller shrimp will work, too. If your shrimp cook through before it’s time to add the sauce to the skillet, transfer them to a serving dish and reduce the sauce on its own before pouring it over the shrimp. Serve with steamed rice, and a simply cooked green vegetable or cucumber salad.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 pound extra-large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on or off)

  • ⅓ cup honey 

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (from 2 large cloves)

  • ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more to taste

  • ¼ teaspoon cornstarch

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

  • Thinly sliced scallions, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

25 grams carbs; 183 milligrams cholesterol; 223 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 4 grams fat; 796 milligrams sodium; 24 grams protein; 23 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the shrimp in a large bowl.

  2. Step 2

    In a small bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper; whisk until smooth. Pour 3 tablespoons of the marinade over the shrimp and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 15 minutes at room temperature, or up to 1 hour in the fridge.

  3. Step 3

    While the shrimp marinate, combine the cornstarch with the remaining marinade and set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Lift the shrimp from the marinade to paper towels and pat dry; discard any marinade remaining in the bowl.

  5. Step 5

    Heat a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high. (A cast-iron skillet will help the shrimp brown more deeply than a nonstick skillet.) Add the oil, swirling to coat the pan, then arrange the shrimp in the skillet in one layer. Cook for 2 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip the shrimp and cook for 1 more minute.

  6. Step 6

    Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the pan sauce thickens. (If your shrimp are on the smaller side and already cooked through before it’s time to add the sauce, transfer them to the serving dish and reduce the sauce on its own. Pour the sauce over the cooked shrimp.)

  7. Step 7

    Transfer the shrimp and sauce to a serving dish, sprinkle with scallions and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
5,050 user ratings
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Comments

Dan

I recommend using less corn starch than the recipe calls for and making a slurry prior to combining it with the marinade in step 3. When I poured the marinade over the cooking shrimp in step 6 it congealed very quickly and made a very unappetizing sauce. The flavors were pretty good but the honey was a bit overpowering. Fresh lime to finish wouldn’t hurt either.

Roberta Brooks

I don’t recommend using your perfectly seasoned 12” cast iron skillet for this recipe, unless you don’t mind scraping the seasoning off along with all the honey that’s stuck to your skillet. I learned that the hard way after making another NYT recipe that called for honey.

celia mllton

This was delicious! I used raw honey, which is very thick, and smaller shrimp, tail off. I served it over a spinach salad. Definitely a keeper. I could see this as an appetizer, toothpicked in some sort of shallow bowl.

Mona

Has anyone tried this with chicken?

Jason H.

Made a version of this with chicken thighs that marinated in a larger amount of soy sauce than prescribed, plus ginger and garlic, and brown sugar rather than honey, without crushed red pepper. However, the next batch of sauce had both honey and crushed red pepper, excluding brown sugar. Reducing in the wok gave the sauce a satisfying depth of flavor, and a steady, quiet burn that lasted well after I had eaten the dish. It paired very well with cucumber salad and jasmine rice.

Kat

We made this tonight following the recipe with the suggestion to cut back the honey to 1/2 cup. We served it with coconut rice and think the flavours really balanced one another. The shrimp on its own was good, but along with the coconut rice was delicious.

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Credits

By Lidey Heuck

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