Here’s a go-to fast and easy dinner: shrimp stir fry! This one is packed with flavor with a glossy, savory stir fry sauce that coats the juicy shrimp and colorful veggies. Use your favorite vegetables to make a super-satisfying dinner that pleases everyone around the table. It’s quick to whip up: just add rice or noodles to make it a meal! Miso is a Japanese fermented soybean paste that’s full of nutrients and salty flavor. It’s known for its intense savory notes, otherwise known as umami. Try to find yellow or white miso for this stir fry sauce if you can. Red or brown miso has a very strong flavor, but it would also work here since the sauce uses a small quantity.
Shrimp: Fresh or frozen both work in this recipe. Broccoli or broccolini: Typically we use broccoli, but broccolini has a sweet flavor and a nice look with the long stems. Bell peppers: Peppers are quick to cook and pack in the nutrients. Mushrooms (optional): Shiitake mushrooms add big savory flavor, but you can use any type of mushroom, like portobello, cremini, oyster, or maitake. Green onions: Scallions are quick to cook and add a fresh flavor. Ginger (optional): Fresh ginger root adds big flavor if you have it.
6 to 7 minutes: broccoli, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, carrots (thinly sliced or matchsticks) 3 to 5 minutes: cabbage (thinly sliced), zucchini, summer squash, edamame (frozen and shelled), snap peas or snow peas, bok choy (chopped) 1 minute: garlic (minced), ginger (minced), green onion (thinly sliced)
Look for wild caught. Fish that is wild caught in your country is usually a sustainable choice. There are also quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide. Find medium shrimp (or large). Medium shrimp is our favorite here, because it’s bite-sized and distributes well with the veggies. Large works too, but we find the size can overwhelm in a stir fry. Medium is labeled as 41 to 50 count, and Large as 31 to 40 count (this indicates how many shrimp there are per pound). Use tail on or peeled. Tail on looks nice, but you do have to remove the tails with your hands as you eat them! Peeled is nice, especially when serving kids. Fresh or frozen. Both have essentially the same freshness because most shrimp are immediately flash frozen. Just make sure to thaw the shrimp in advance.
Soy sauce Rice vinegar Sugar Miso, yellow or white Cornstarch Garlic powder
Jasmine rice: Jasmine rice has a lovely fragrant flavor and light texture that makes it our favorite variety. Quinoa: We like mixing it up and serving a stir fry with quinoa every now and then. Noodles: Serve with quick soba noodles. Edamame: Pair this stir fry with edamame or spicy edamame as a side. Fried Rice: Add fried rice for a filling meal.
Bell peppers are packed with vitamin C: 1 medium red bell pepper provides 169% of your daily vitamin C. So using two peppers in this recipe knocks this vitamin off the charts (source). Broccoli is full of fiber and Vitamin C. 1 cup of raw broccoli has 2.3 grams of fiber (source) and 140% of your daily vitamin (source). This recipe uses about 4 cups. You also get all the benefits of mushrooms, like anti-oxidants and Vitamin B (source).
Try shrimp risotto, shrimp fra diavolo or shrimp lettuce wraps. Go for a shrimp and rice skillet, or pastas like shrimp linguine, garlic shrimp pasta or shrimp primavera. Mix up Cajun shrimp or honey garlic shrimp.
4.7 from 6 reviews
3 tablespoons sesame oil 1 pound shrimp, deveined and shelled (or tail on), wild caught if possible 1 pound broccoli or broccolini (stem on), about 4 cups 2 bell peppers, any color 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms (optional) 2 green onions 1 tablespoon minced ginger, optional
For the stir fry sauce
¼ cup soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos) 6 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon yellow or white miso 2 teaspoons cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
