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Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe

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Honey walnut shrimp is a popular Chinese takeout dish and now you can make it in the comforts of your own home. Crispy, crunchy, fried shrimp tossed in a sweet and creamy sauce topped with candied walnuts. Perfect for your next dinner at home. 

chopstick picking up honey walnut shrimp

Okay, but seriously this dish is one of my absolute favorites. I mean who doesn’t love a good fried shrimp with candied walnuts and a sweet and creamy sauce. Game over!

Chinese take out places, yes like Panda Express, have this dish on the menu, but it’s always an extra fee. Why pay more when you can make this in the comforts of your home for less. After all there’s just something about homemade that makes things so much better.

Alright let’s get this thing started. First up, what you’ll need for this recipe.

Ingredients

honey walnut shrimp ingredients
  • For the walnuts
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • ½ cup walnuts
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ cup water
  • For the honey sauce
    • ¼ cup mayonnaise
    • 2 tablespoon honey
    • 1 tablespoon condensed milk
  • For the shrimp
    • 2 eggs
    • ⅔ cup potato starch
    • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined
    • Cooking oil of choice

First let’s talk walnuts. I like to use chopped walnuts. These make the perfect bite sized pieces. They get candy coated and tossed over the shrimp. Can’t go wrong with anything candy coated, right?

Next the honey sauce. So many different honey options. Feel free to use your favorite type of honey here. This is a simple, creamy sauce that will make this dish absolutely amazing.

honey walnut shrimp in a glass bowl

And now onto the star of the show. . .the shrimp. All shrimp fans unite. The secret to the crunchy coating here is potato starch just like in my chicken karaage recipe. Potato starch can be found in the Asian aisle at your local grocery store. If you can’t find potato starch you can replace this with cornstarch.

The potato starch is mixed with eggs and used to coat the shrimp before it’s fried. Use the cooking oil of your choice. Best to use a mild flavored oil here. This could be vegetable, canola, avocado, etc.

homey walnut shrimp on black plates with rice

What size shrimp should I use?

It really is up to you. Smaller shrimp make great bite sized pieces, but take a little more effort to batter and fry since you’ll need to use more. The big old ones make cooking a little easier, but you may not want such large pieces. Use what you have on hand or buy what’s on sale.

Do I need to peel the shrimp?

This is a recipe that will require the shrimp to be peeled. It will be coated and fried. You wouldn’t want to eat the shells here. You can purchase shrimp peeled and de-veined, but this generally makes it more expensive. Peeling and de-veining is a simple technique, but can take some time.

How to store honey walnut shrimp?

This dish is best served immediately. If you have extra shrimp at the end of the meal, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

honey walnut shrimp on a gray plate

Can you freeze honey walnut shrimp?

It is possible to freeze, however I prefer it fresh. If you opt to freeze you can either freeze the shrimp after frying, but before tossing in the sauce. When you’re ready to reheat, defrost in the refrigerator then warm up in the microwave. If you want to restore the crunch you can re-fry the shrimp or even toss in the toaster oven.

Want to make other take out dishes at home? Try these:

Now let’s get cooking.

How to make honey walnut shrimp?

For the walnuts. Add butter to a small pot over medium heat. Heat until butter has melted. Add walnuts and toss until coated. Remove walnuts and set aside.

Add sugar and water to the pot and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Return the walnuts to the pot and toss to coat. Once coated, remove walnuts from the pot and place on a cookie sheet to cool. Be sure to spread the walnuts out so it does not stick together. Allow to cool and harden.

candied walnuts

Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add the cooking oil of your choice and heat to about 350F.

For the sauce: To a bowl add mayonnaise, honey, and condensed milk. Mix until well combined and set aside.

honey sauce

For the shrimp: Add potato starch and eggs to a bowl. Whisk until well combined.

honey walnut shrimp dredging

Dip shrimp in dredging and place in a frying pan. Fry for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned, flipping halfway through.

frying honey walnut shrimp

Remove shrimp from oil and place on a paper towel or on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.

remove honey walnut shrimp from pan

Once the excess oil has drained, add shrimp to honey sauce. Toss to coat. Then top with candied walnuts and ENJOY!

honey walnut shrimp
chopstick picking up honey walnut shrimp

Honey Walnut Shrimp

Relle Lum
Honey walnut shrimp is a popular Chinese takeout dish and now you can make it in the comforts of your own home. Crispy, crunchy, fried shrimp tossed in a sweet and creamy sauce topped with candied walnuts. Perfect for your next dinner at home.
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Seafood
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 servings
Calories 642 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the walnuts

For the honey sauce

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon condensed milk

For the shrimp

  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup potato starch
  • 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
  • cooking oil of choice

Instructions
 

  • For the walnuts. Add butter to a small pot over medium heat. Heat until butter has melted. Add walnuts and toss until coated. Remove walnuts and set aside.
  • Add sugar and water to the pot and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Return the walnuts to the pot and toss to coat. Once coated, remove walnuts from the pot and place on a cookie sheet to cool. Be sure to spread the walnuts out so it does not stick together. Allow to cool and harden.
  • Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add the cooking oil of your choice and heat to about 350F.
  • For the sauce: To a bowl add mayonnaise, honey, and condensed milk. Mix until well combined and set aside.
  • For the shrimp: Add potato starch and eggs to a bowl. Whisk until well combined. Dip shrimp in dredging and place in frying pan. Fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown, flipping half way through.
  • Remove shrimp from oil and place on a paper towel or on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.
  • Once the excess oil has drained, add shirmp to honey sauce. Toss to coat. Then top with candied walnuts and ENJOY!

Notes

*Potato starch can be replaced with corn starch.
*Use a mild flavored cooking oil.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 642kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 34gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 355mgSodium: 1223mgFiber: 3gSugar: 25g
Keyword chinese food, easy recipes, honey walnut shrimp, keeping it relle, shrimp, shrimp recipes, take out
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honey walnut shrimp

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By on August 11th, 2020

About Relle

Aloha, my name is Relle and welcome to my little home on the internet where I like to share all my favorite Hawaiian recipes (and local ones too).

I am a wife, mom of two, and nurse practitioner here in the beautiful state of Hawai’i. I was born and raised in Hawai’i and I am of native Hawaiian descent. In my spare time I love to cook and bake and I have compiled many of my favorite recipes here for you to enjoy.

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