Honey Walnut Shrimp is a combination of golden brown crispy shrimp with a creamy sweet sauce tossed with candied walnuts. A popular dish at Chinese restaurants and banquets, it has the perfect balance of sweet, salty, crispy, and creamy.
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❤️ Why you'll love it
Easy recipe: this recipe is very easy to make, it is just takes a little bit of patience frying the shrimp.
Chinese food favorite: the tempura fried shrimp coated with a creamy honey sauce is sweet and savory with a delicious combination of crispy shrimp and candied nuts.
🥘 Ingredients
Large shrimp: rinsed, peeled, deveined, and patted dry.
Egg whites: works with the cornstarch to create
Cornstarch: this is what makes the tempura batter.
Vegetable oil or peanut oil: for frying the shrimp. These oils that have a higher smoke point and are most commonly used for deep frying.
Sweetened condensed milk: adds creaminess and sweetness to the sweet honey sauce.
Mayonnaise: add creaminess and savory flavors.
Raw honey: adds flavor to the sauce
Walnuts: you can use walnut halves and pieces or chopped walnuts. I prefer the chopped for smaller bites.
Sugar: used to make the candied walnuts.
🔪 Instructions
For the candied walnuts
- Add water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add walnuts and stir. Bring back to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and drain water. Place walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer to dry.
Make the tempura batter
- In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until slightly foamy. Stir in cornstarch, ⅓ cup at a time. If cornstarch mixture starts to stiffen you can thin it out some with a little bit of cold water.
Fry the shrimp
- In a large pot over medium heat heat oil to 350 degrees. Place shrimp in cornstarch mixture and stir to coat.
- With a fork, remove shrimp, one piece at a time, letting excess coating drip off. Place shrimp in hot oil; repeat with remaining shrimp.
- Cook shrimp for 1-2 minutes, turning several times while frying until shrimp coating is golden brown.
- Remove shrimp from fryer using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Make the sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, honey, and sweetened condensed milk.
- Place shrimp in a large mixing bowl with the candied walnuts. Pour mayonnaise mixture over shrimp mixture and stir until shrimp is coated with the sauce.
🥄 Equipment
Small saucepan: to boil the walnuts
Large sheet pan: for drying the candied walnuts.
Large bowl
Small bowl
Hand whisk
Large frying pot (or deep fryer)
Candy thermometer:
Slotted spoon
🥫Storage
Refrigerate: store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.
Freeze: I do not recommend freezing leftovers.
Reheat: place shrimp in a microwave safe bowl and heat until warmed through.
📖 Variations
- Substitute maple syrup or coconut sugar for the granulated sugar when boiling the walnuts
💭 Tips
- Use a splatter screen when frying the shrimp in between stirring to prevent grease from popping out of the pot.
- Stir the shrimp during initial frying time to prevent the shrimp from sticking together in a clump.
- Spray the measuring cups for the honey with non stick cooking spray so it slides right out of the cup easily!
Related Recipes
Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles
🍽 Serve with...
Serve crispy honey walnut shrimp over white rice or garlic noodles with a side of steamed broccoli.
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📖 Recipe
Honey Walnut Shrimp
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Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp peeled and de-veined
- ⅔ cups cornstarch
- 4 large egg whites
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup water
- ⅔ cups sugar
- ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 4 cups vegetable oil , or enough to fill skillet 1" deep
Instructions
For the candied walnuts
- Add water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add walnuts and stir. Bring back to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and drain water. Place walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer to dry.
For the tempura batter
- In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until slightly foamy. Stir in cornstarch, ⅓ cup at a time. If cornstarch mixture starts to stiffen you can thin it out some with a little bit of cold water.
To fry the shrimp
- In a large pot over medium heat heat oil to 350 degrees. Place shrimp in cornstarch mixture and stir to coat.
- With a fork, remove shrimp, one piece at a time, letting excess coating drip off.
- Place shrimp in hot oil; repeat with remaining shrimp. Cook shrimp for 1-2 minutes, turning several times while frying until shrimp coating is golden brown.
- Remove shrimp from fryer using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
For the honey sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, honey, and sweetened condensed milk.
- Place shrimp in a large mixing bowl with the candied walnuts.
- Pour mayonnaise mixture over shrimp mixture and stir until shrimp is coated with the sauce.
Fahad Khan
Looks very tempting and delicious,I am sure this will go well along with noodles!Thank you for sharing Shelby,yours is one of the prettiest blogs/site!:-)
bellini
I loved this recipe the first time you posted it as well Shelby.
Lesa @Edesia's Notebook
Yum, Shelby! I know what you mean about wanting to redo some old recipes. I started blogging 4.5 years ago and my early pics are horrendous!
Lizzy
This may be my new favorite Chinese food dish, too!!
Curt
First of all, that's a beautiful photograph!
But most of all, this recipe sounds awesome. I love shrimp, and the ingredients in this sound so delicious. I will definitely have to make this.
Leslie
This looks amazing. I can see why it is Grumpys fav!!!!
Mari
Wonderful combination of flavors. This shrimp recipe looks scrumptious!