If you love Asian food, you’ll go mad over these Chilli Garlic Prawns! The sticky sauce is spicy, sweet and garlicky and I think you will be surprised how few ingredients it requires. And when you taste it you will be amazed what great depth of flavour it has!
This takes 15 minutes to get on the table. Cross my heart. So start cooking the rice before you start these prawns (shrimp)!
When I go to a restaurant and try a dish I like, I usually have a fair chance of getting pretty close replicating the dish at home. Even if I can’t make something straight off the top of my head, I’ll know where to look to find a recipe to use as a base, or a Chef that makes something similar.
I promise I’m not trying to blow my own horn here (and I can’t do desserts!!), I’m just explaining how this recipe evolved. And it came to be after I had a Stir Fried Prawns (Shrimp) in Chilli Jam at a Thai Restaurant.
I was going to try to replicate it using a homemade Chilli Jam recipe, but then I got lazy. Instead, I tried to achieve the same flavours using a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a dash of this and a splash of that.
And what do you know? It came out darn delicious. Really, really tasty and pretty close to making this with a homemade Chilli Jam, but just a whole lot easier and faster. 🙂
I promise I’m not exaggerating when I say that this really does taste like Spicy Stir Fries you get from modern Asian restaurants. I don’t claim this to be authentic Asian because it probably isn’t an authentic Asian stir fry but every ingredient in the sauce is certainly used in many Asian dishes!
I served this with rice and steamed baby buk choy. Here is my real lazy but very effective way of steaming Asian greens. I know it is not environmentally friendly and one of my friends totally “had a go” at me about this, but I can’t help it, it’s ingrained in my DNA because it’s how my grandmother used to steam Asian greens!
All you do is rinse the vegetables under the tap, shake excess water off (but don’t dry), wrap in cling wrap then microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (or so). That’s it!
You can do this with most Asian greens – Chinese broccoli (gai lan), choi sum etc. And if you want a really great sauce to serve on steamed Asian Greens, try my Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce which really does taste like what you get at Chinese Restaurants and Yum Cha (it’s made with more than just Oyster Sauce!).
Putting rice aside, and assuming you use raw peeled prawns / shrimp rather than peeling your own, my Chilli Garlic Prawns really is a 15 minute dinner. Here is how it goes down:
- Finely chop garlic and ginger (green onions/shallots and fresh red chilli is optional garnish);
- Cook prawns (3 minutes tops);
- Make sauce (4 minutes);
- Steam greens (1 1/2 minutes); and
- Serve and look like a hero!
Rice really is actually an inconvenience in this meal. I mean, it takes so darn long to make compared to everything else. 😉 – Nagi x
PS I know that I am usually a prawn snob and I really urge you to peel your own prawns but for a quick meal like this, pre-peeled is the way to go. Fresh, if possible. Frozen prawns are just not the same. 🙂
- 10 oz / 300g prawns / shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp ginger , grated or finely chopped (can be omitted)
- 1 - 2 tsp chilli flakes* (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp Sriracha (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce , light or all purpose
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (or sub with white sugar)
- Sesame seeds
- Finely chopped shallots/scallions
- Finely chopped red chillies
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Coat prawns in vegetable oil. Heat well seasoned skillet or non stick pan over high heat. Cook prawns for 2 minutes, or until light golden and just cooked. (Note 3) Transfer onto a plate.
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Remove skillet from stove to cool down slightly, and decrease stove to medium.
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Add sesame oil into skillet, return to stove. When heated, add garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Cook until garlic is fragrant and starting to turn golden.
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Add water, then remaining ingredients. Stir, increase heat to medium high, and let it simmer for 3 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken to a syrup consistency.
-
Return prawns into skillet and toss to coat in sauce and reheat, and cook until the sauce thickens a bit more.
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Garnish with sesame seeds, fresh chilli and shallots if desired. Serve with rice and steamed baby Buk Choy (Note 4)
* Adjust spiciness to taste with chilli flakes not Sriracha because the sauce needs the vinegar in the Sriracha.
1. Also known as Red Pepper Flakes. You could also use a jar of minced chilli or chilli paste but do not try to saute it with the garlic because it will spit everywhere! Stir it in when you add the water. Even this Masterfoods Chilli Paste from Woolworths in Australia is fine.
2. Sriracha is an Asian chilli sauce that is made with more than just chilli. It is now common in most supermarkets in Australia, US, Canada and UK. Hereis the one I use from Woolworths.
You can substitute with another hot sauce, even Frank's!
3. How to tell if prawns are cooked: Raw prawns hang straight by the trail, perfectly cooked prawns form a "C" and overcooked prawns will curl into an "O". Overcooked prawns have a rubbery texture and are not nice - so don't do it! 🙂
4. This is how I steam baby Buk Choy: Rinse under tap, shake off excess water, wrap with cling wrap and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on high. Remove cling wrap immediately (careful of steam) and serve!
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 (generous) servings. Prawns and sauce only.
Save this Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns to your “BEST EASY MEALS” Pinterest Board!
And let’s be friends on Pinterest so you can see all the delicious recipes I’m pinning!
Life of Dozer – The vet said to figure out a way to stop him from licking his injured paw. So I did. 😉
If you enjoyed my Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns (Shrimp), I think you’ll LOVE……
My Mongolian Beef – crispy beef tossed in a fabulous sticky sauce!
My Asian Glazed Salmon with a glorious sticky glaze!
Or to serve on the side, how about Chinese Fried Rice?
I have never posted a comment on any recipe but your recipes are amazing! easy ingredients and amazing flavors. I didn’t have sesame oil and just used canola….it was perfect. Even my 5 year old wanted more.
Thanks for taking the time to leave me a message Essie! I’m so glad you and your child enjoyed this! N xx
Wonderful recipe! All the ingredients (except the prawns) are pantry items, and it goes together so quickly. A new family favorite. My husband loves the sauce. He’s suggested making extra sauce and tossing in some veggie, which I will definitely try. Love the vibrant flavors and color!
I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed this Mariko! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Made this tonight using my home made sriracha.
,
Your recipe is excellent.
Thank you for sharing nagi
That’s wonderful to hear Sandra! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
Wonderful recipe to simulate restaurant sauces and take-aways. I used frozen giant king prawns from Marks and Spencers as they are guaranteed responsibly sourced and not from the areas operating slave-ships around Sri Lanka and China Seas. These prawns are from Honduras or Canada or Greenland in the Atlantic. None of the peeling and cooking hassle. The sauce didn’t quite thicken enough but probably because I use less sugar as it’s better for you!
I did as another reader did here and thickened with cornstarch and water paste. Dried Chilli flakes and a little Jamaican chilli sauce made the heat just right. Good to see no MSG featuring in the ingredients – The flavour was so authentic and delightful that it could be made without MSG (used ad nauseam by so many Chinese Take Aways and Restaurants). You don’t need flavour-enhancers when you the ingredients have enough super taste of their own. So I give this dish 5 stars and it’s going to be one of my regular recipes. Thank you for posting it up. Great stuff.
Thanks for the tips on the prawns Jeremy! And for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
This was really yummy, I added some rice wine vinegar and honey to offset the heat. Thickened with a little cornstarch and it took no more than 10 minutes. Steamed broccoli and ate with cauliflower rice.
That’s terrific to hear Shari! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
This is absolutely amazing! Made the recipe with pre marinted garlic prawns from Woolies and 2 extra garlic cloves. Absolutely delicious!! Thank you!
Fantastic to hear! Always wondered about those pre marinated prawns at Woolies! N xx
Hi Nagi, I love, love, love your site and have thought everything I’ve tried so far has been 5 stars terrific! That said, last night I made your Asian Chile garlic prawns, and my lips and throat are still burning. My hubby and I consider ourselves pretty food heat experienced and tolerant, but we could not eat this – and, we really wanted to! I followed your recipe exactly (only using 1teaspoon red pepper flakes) and served with baby bok choy – what a great way to steam it!!) – and ramen.
I’ll try this again, but with no red pepper or sriracha. I’m thinking of using sesame chili oil to impart some heat.
Thanks for all your wonderful ideas. I think Dozer is super dog!
Hi Mary Lou, I’m sorry this was too spicy for you! Do you know if you used a stock-standard type red pepper flakes?? And not a speciality type that’s crazy spicy?? I actually made this fairly recently and while spicy, didn’t find it was “blow your head off” spicy! N xx
Hi Nagi, thanks for your response. I used just regular “off the shelf” red pepper flakes, but there were probably more seeds than flakes. Do you know if there are any commercial “flake only” pepper offerings? One other thing is that I’m not really a fan of sriracha on anything.
Hi Mary Lou! Well, the heat in peppers is certainly in the seeds so I’m thinking that may have been the problem! I haven’t heard of any flake only red pepper, but that’s a great idea!! 🙂 N x
Absolutely delicious and so easy! I saved this recipe! So good!
That’s terrific to hear Laurie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
I recently found your site and this is the first recipe I tried. I made it earlier in the week and it came out fantastic, restaurant quality. My 13 year old son’s, who is not a big shrimp fan, first words after trying it were “make this again. Looking forward to trying other recipes
That’s terrific to hear David! So glad you and your son enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
This is restaurant quality amazing and it’s made with such accessible ingredients, this could work equally well with meat too I believe.
Seriously, you bossed it with this recipe Nagi.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Mia! Thank you for letting me know – N x ❤️
My fiance is allergic to seafood, so I tried this dish using chicken drumsticks instead. He absolutely loved it! The sauce is incredibly delicious…I made long french green beans as a side and he dipped those into the glaze as well. I’m a bit of an inexperienced cook, so I’m always searching for ideas and I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
I’m so pleased to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on this recipe 🙂 N xx
I made this dish last night. It was sooooo good. My husband and I both love this very much. Your notes help a lot. Thank you very much, NAGI !!! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes…………. 🙂
That’s fantastic to hear Lisa! Thank you for letting me know – N xx
Well we just thoroughly enjoyed these, we already had some cooked prawns from the trawlers so simply added them at end, to warm them through, thnx for that recipe next time we will add rice n bok Choy yum yum.
That’s wonderful to hear Joe, thank you for letting me know! Hope you are having a lovely weekend – N xx
Can you please do a creamy garlic prawn recipe next!? 🤗
Hi Fadi! Added to the list!!! PS If you can’t wait though, just add a splash of cream right at the end after the wine has mostly evaporated 🙂 It’s so SO good! N xx
Hi Nagi,
I just recently became aware of your website. Your recipes look fabulous!! I love entertaining and can’t wait to try these recipes. The next time I have friends over for dinner, I’m going to make the Asian Chilli Garlic Shrimp. I would like to know if this dish is really hot because some of my friends like mildly spicy food. Thanks Nagi!
Hi Linda! I don’t consider this very hot, it’s mild. And actually, though I like to think I’m tough when it comes to spice, I’m actually not! 🙂
We made this tonight and woweee, it was super spicy with 2 Tbls of Sriracha. I followed your note to leave out the red chili peppers if I was concerned about the heat, so I did and it was still super spicy. Maybe my husband and I are wimpy, but what if I were to cut it back to one Tbls of Sriracha. Could I add a little rice vinegar and maybe some Mirin to offset the lack of Sriracha that has that vinegar tang? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Really loved the flavors and would like to figure out how to lesson the spice.
Hi Cynthia! I’m sorry to hear you thought this was too spicy. Try reducing the sriracha down to 1 tbsp which is not very much across 300g of prawns, and add 1 tsp of rice vinegar. 🙂
So yummy
So glad you enjoyed it Mark! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts on this recipe! – N x
I’ll be trying your Mongolian Beef next 🙂
Oooh i LOVE the Mongolian Beef! The recipe is from one of my favourite Chinese blogs 🙂
What’s not to love about this dish!! It’s quick, easy, hardly any prep required, tasty and spicy – just my kind of food! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Phyllis! I actually made this into noodles the other day too, SO GOOD! N xx
I made the shrimps last night and they tasted just like they would have at an Asian restaurant. I am planning to have one day in the week dedicated to Chinese/Thai recipes from your blog cause everything I have made so far has been so yummy and quick to make!
I’m so glad to hear that Aarti! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Tried it last night – 5stars
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Andy, thanks so much for trying it!! Did it remind you of prawns like what you get at modern Thai restaurants??? 🙂 N x