Sweet and Sour Shrimp With Broccoli
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This healthier version of the Chinese restaurant-style sweet and sour shrimp is one of the easiest (and tastiest) weeknight suppers you can make.
A healthier version of the Chinese restaurant-style dish that is typically battered and deep-fried, this sweet and sour shrimp with broccoli is one of the easiest (and tastiest) suppers you can make. Start a pot of rice before you begin prepping and 30 minutes later, your dinner is done. I always stock up on the 2-lb bags of frozen shrimp when they are on sale at my supermarket; that makes this recipe a convenient and affordable meal, too.
What you’ll need to make sweet and sour shrimp
Before we get to the recipe, a note on buying shrimp: The “fresh” shrimp you see in the seafood case at the supermarket is typically thawed frozen shrimp, and you never know how long it’s been sitting there.
Almost all shrimp are cleaned and flash frozen shortly after being caught, so for the freshest shrimp, you’re better off buying it frozen and defrosting it yourself. For this recipe, I buy shrimp labeled “shell split and deveined.” Come dinnertime, all I have to do is run the shrimp under cold water to quickly defrost and then peel.
How to make sweet and sour shrimp
Begin with the sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, cornstarch, and rice vinegar. Whisk until completely smooth, then whisk in the chicken broth. Set aside.
Prep the scallions, garlic, and ginger.
Set a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the light green scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 2 minutes. Do not brown.
Add the shrimp.
Cook, stirring frequently, until mostly pink and curled, but not cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Add the sauce and broccoli to the pan.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thickened and the shrimp and broccoli are cooked through, about 3 minutes.
Sprinkle the dark green scallions over top.
Serve with rice and enjoy.
You may also like
- Ginger, Garlic & Chili Shrimp
- Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp
- Shrimp Pad Thai
- Thai-Style Ginger & Sweet Red Chili Shrimp
Sweet and Sour Shrimp with Broccoli
This healthier version of the Chinese restaurant-style sweet and sour shrimp is one of the easiest (and tastiest) weeknight suppers you can make.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce, such as Sambal Oelek (available in Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 bunch scallions, finely sliced, light and dark green parts divided
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (see note)
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 pounds extra-large (26/30) or jumbo (21/25) shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
- 2½ cups broccoli florets
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, chile sauce, cornstarch and rice vinegar. Whisk until completely smooth, then whisk in the chicken broth. Set aside.
- Set a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the light green scallions, ginger, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 2 minutes. Do not brown. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until mostly pink and curled, but not cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add the sauce and broccoli to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thickened and the shrimp and broccoli are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the dark green scallions over top and serve with rice.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 347
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Sodium: 2152 mg
- Cholesterol: 286 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Another recipe from Once Upon A Chef, another home run.
The flavor of this one is so great that I’m going to try it with other proteins as well.
Made exactly as written except cut the oil down to 1 tablespoon – fabulous low fat meal that will be put into regular rotation!
CRAVIN’ ASIAN!! Thanks! So easy and delicious! Going in my weeknight deck! Everyone enjoyed!!
This recipe is so good!! Made it for my dad who says he doesn’t really like shrimp and he basically licked the bowl.
We love broccoli generally, but it seemed like an odd veg to add to this dish. Nevertheless, we followed the recipe to a T and it was delicious! In fact we’ll be reducing the shrimp and adding MORE broccoli the next time we make this 😉
Jenn, one question for you please: when you reference salt in your recipes, do you mean table salt or kosher salt? If you don’t specify, is it safe to use either? Thank you!
Hi Monica, Glad you liked this! When a recipe of mine says salt in the ingredient list, I am referring to regular/table salt. If it calls for something else like kosher salt, I will specify that in the recipe. And while it doesn’t make a huge difference, different salts have different-sized grains and so you may end up using a bit more or a bit less if you use a different type of salt than the recipe calls for. Hope that clarifies!
I was missing a lot of ingredients so I had to improvise a bit. I tasted the sauce before adding it to the pan and it tasted a little bit too sour so I added a teaspoon of Hoisin sauce and it balanced it out perfectly! Super yummy and quick.
Thanks Jen!
I love a good asian style shrimp recipe, and this one is great. I followed it exactly, except just had a little more than one pound of shrimp. It was even well balanced with that. I will say, if you haven’t tried the Sambal Oelek chili sauce, you should give it a try. It’s a very good and not too spicy flavor, I think. But then I like spicy. Also, Jasmine rice is perfect with this shrimp dish.
Thanks for another delicious recipe.
Another winner! It was so delicious and flavorful, we all loved it.
It is okay/good recipe.
Is it possible to use frozen cooked shrimp (instead of raw) and then just add the shrimp at the end to heat them in the sauce?
Hi Susanne, I think this is best with raw shrimp, but cooked shrimp should work here. Just don’t heat them any longer than necessary or they’ll get tough. Hope that helps!
I’m usually happy with Jenn’s recipes, but this just didn’t work for us. It was fine for a one time meal, but I wouldn’t make it again.