This quick and easy stir-fry recipe stars a homemade spin on a Chinese American food favorite, featuring DIY sweet and sour shrimp sautéed with sugar snap peas and tossed together with rice noodles. Feel free to add more veggies to the mix or to swap the noodles for rice (or zucchini noodles!).
Plus, I’m sharing tips and tricks to customize this takeout-inspired recipe with whatever you have in your fridge and pantry. Perfect for busy weeknights, this 20-minute meal is sure to become a family favorite!
Table of Contents
There is an abundance of 30-minute meals around these parts, some savory, some sweet, but all guaranteed to be on your table in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Property Brothers (hi, Jonathan and Drew!). But sometimes even 30 minutes is pushing it when it comes to whipping up a homemade meal. Enter this sweet and sour shrimp stir-fry! Now you can go from raw ingredients to a meal-in-a-bowl in 20 minutes or less.
I am a stir-fry fanatic: Stir-fry recipes are simply templates pointing you in a general direction. They leave the recipe roadmap wide open for customizations. Not a fan of shrimp? Up the cooking time and toss in cubed chicken breast for a seafood-free alternative. Love extra veggies? Add in bell peppers, broccoli or carrots. This recipe is flexible, quick and bursting with flavor.
This Sweet and Sour Shrimp Is:
- Packed with perfectly cooked, juicy shrimp.
- Made with a deliciously sticky sauce.
- Loaded with crispy, tender snap peas.
- Perfect for busy weeknights or a quick weekend meal.
- Easily customizable with your favorite veggies or protein.
- Versatile enough to serve with rice, noodles or extra veggies.
- Ready in just 20 minutes, making it the ultimate quick stir-fry recipe.
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- Thai sweet chili sauce: This is the base of our tangy, sweet sauce. It’s got just the right amount of heat and sweetness to balance the flavors.
- Pineapple juice: Adds the sweet element to our stir-fry sauce. Look for 100% pure pineapple juice for the best flavor. If you don’t have pineapple juice on hand, orange juice works as a substitute.
- Low sodium soy sauce: Provides the salty, umami depth to the sauce. Opt for low sodium, just like when making spicy garlic sauce, to keep the dish from getting too salty.
- Rice wine vinegar: For the sour element to our sauce.
- Cornstarch: Used as a thickener.
For the Stir-Fry:
- Shrimp: This recipe calls for medium shrimp. You can use fresh or frozen, but using frozen shrimp that are already peeled and deveined will save you time in the kitchen. Just thaw and drain them thoroughly before cooking. Using fresh shrimp? See my recipe for glazed honey garlic shrimp for tips and tricks on deveining shrimp.
- Garlic: Adds a punch of flavor. Freshly minced is best, but jarred minced garlic works too.
- Sugar snap peas: Blanched to keep them crisp and vibrant. If snap peas aren’t your thing, try bell peppers, broccoli or carrots.
- Rice noodles: A perfect, slurp-worthy base for the stir-fry. Feel free to use whatever noodles you have in your pantry or even steamed coconut rice for a tasty twist.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Before you even turn on the stove, have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go, as stir-frying is a quick process. For the full recipe, see the recipe card below.
- Make the sweet and sour sauce and cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions. Whisk together the sweet chili sauce, pineapple juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Blanch the sugar snap peas. Add them to a pot of boiling water for about 20 seconds then remove them and immediately rinse them with cold water.
- Cook the shrimp and garlic. You can use a wok or a large, tall-sided sauté pan for this stir-fry recipe. Stir constantly, until the shrimp are pink and mostly cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add the snap peas to the wok.
- Add the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it thickens to the consistency of syrup, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked rice noodles and toss to combine until they’re thoroughly coated with the sauce. Serve immediately.
I like to serve this sweet and sour shrimp alongside cream cheese wontons or avocado egg rolls. These crispy appetizers are a hit with any Chinese American meal.
- Shrimp cooks incredibly fast – just 2-3 minutes per side. Overcooked shrimp turns rubbery, so keep an eye on them. When in doubt, slightly undercook them before adding the sweet and sour sauce; they’ll continue to cook as you bring the sauce to a boil to thicken.
- You can typically find udon or rice noodles in the Asian or international foods section of most grocery stores. If you can’t find them or prefer to use what you have on hand, feel free to swap in any noodles from your pantry. Spaghetti, linguine or even lo mein noodles can work as substitutes.
- Keep the takeout-inspired recipes going all week long by using any leftover pineapple juice to make sticky pineapple chicken or baked sweet and sour meatballs.
FAQs
Absolutely! Frozen snap peas can be a convenient and equally delicious alternative. Just make sure to thaw and drain them well before adding them to the stir-fry. Note: There’s no need to blanch frozen snap peas, as they’re typically blanched before freezing.
Definitely! Feel free to add your favorite veggies like bell peppers, broccoli or carrots.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through.
Ready for more ways to ditch the takeout menus? Don’t miss my favorite quick and easy homemade takeout recipes:
- Easy Pineapple Shrimp
- 30-Minute Beef Lo Mein
- Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice
- 30-Minute Mongolian Beef
- Crispy Pork Egg Rolls
- Easy Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the stir-fry:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups sugar snap peas, blanched (See Kelly’s Note)
- 8 ounces rice noodles, cooked
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet chili sauce, pineapple juice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and cornstarch. Set the sauce aside.
Make the stir-fry:
- Add the olive oil to a wok or large, tall-sided sauté pan set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the shrimp and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp are pink and mostly cooked through, about 2 minutes.
- Move the shrimp and snap peas to the edges of the pan, increase the heat to medium-high then pour the prepared sauce in the center. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it thickens to the consistency of syrup, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low then add the noodles and toss to combine until they’re thoroughly coated with the sauce. Serve immediately.
Kelly’s Notes
- To blanch the sugar snap peas, add them to a pot of boiling water for about 20 seconds then remove them and immediately rinse them with cold water. This will cook them partially while also ensuring a bright green color.
- You can typically find udon or rice noodles in the Asian or international foods section of most grocery stores. If you can’t find them or prefer to use what you have on hand, feel free to swap in any noodles from your pantry. Spaghetti, linguine or even lo mein noodles can work as substitutes.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Looks wonderful, Kelly. I see the high number for sodium, but what besides the low sodium soy sauce is raising the sodium level? Most of the Asian recipes have too much sodium for us to eat…my husband’s cardiologist wants us to monitor his sodium. Do you have any suggestions?
I also substitute garlic powder and onion powders in your recipes because of allergies. I don’t miss the real thing at all. I also substitute veggies to ones I like. Your recipes are so easy to substitute ingredients, and I thank you for that!
Hi there! Shrimp are just naturally a very sodium-dense food.
I love making all of your recipes!
Thank you for making my life easier.
My husband thanks you too!
You are so welcome, Sue! I’m thrilled you and your husband have been enjoying Just a Taste!
Could you use cooked shrimp in this recipe? And if so, how? I love all of your recipes~!
Sure, Diana! Just add the cooked shrimp to the pan at the very end to coat in the sauce and warm through.
Excellent recipe! Thanks so much, will definitely be making again.
You are so welcome, Julie! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Excellent recipe! Thanks so much for sharing it :)
Can I replace the pineapple juice with orange juice? I’m allergic to pineapple. Thanks :)
That should work!
The recipe states: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet chili sauce, pineapple juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch – however I do not see sesame oil listed as an ingredient, it also does not say to include the rice wine vinegar. Can you clarify?
Hi Susan! Thanks for catching this. I’ve updated the recipe but you may need to clear your cache to see it.
Hi there,
My ingredients list still hasn’t updated. How much sesame oil do I use?
Hi Lacey – You most likely need to clear your cache to see the updated recipe. And you actually do not need any sesame oil. :)
You did not mention how much sesame oil needed for the sauce
Hi Marsha – Please clear your cache to view the updated recipe.
I was just getting ready to make this tonight, and in your ingredients, you call for 1/3 cup pineapple juice, but there is no where in your instructions on when to add it! Or where?
I am adding it to the sauce, and hopefully this will be right, and you have 2 add ins for the snap peas????
Hi there! Adding these corrections now, but yes, the pineapple juice goes in the sauce and the snap peas are added with the shrimp. Thanks for letting me know!
Hah! Mine too, Karly :)
20 minute deliciousness is my middle name. Well, not really. My mom wouldn’t have been okay with that. But still, I’m loving this!
I love quick and easy ! I love healthy food full of flavor. Thank you for the great ideas keep them coming please
We love stir fry and roasted foods
I love a quick and easy weeknight recipe that I can easily make gluten free. I’ll just use Tamari instead of soy!