Honey Garlic Shrimp

A close up picture of a stainless steel skillet pan with shrimp inside of it with a honey garlic marinade.

Quick & easy Honey Garlic Shrimp is a simple dinner idea with only a few ingredients. Shrimp marinates in a honey garlic soy sauce marinade, and then it cooks in a skillet pan with the marinade for maximum flavor & taste.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword easy shrimp recipe, honey garlic shrimp, marinated shrimp, shrimp

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 8

Marinate Time 1

Total Time 1 13

Servings

Calories 265kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

20 oz extra large peeled & deveined shrimp
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
5 garlic cloves minced or pressed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

* I recommend rinsing the shrimp under cold running water, laying them on a paper towel and using another paper towel to blot the shrimp dry. This helps to remove any gunk leftover on the shrimp or shell pieces.
Add the shrimp, honey, soy sauce, and garlic cloves into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Seal tightly and shake to combine. Let it marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
Add olive oil to a skillet pan over high heat. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and add it into the hot pan; set the marinade aside for later.
Sear the shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side. Once the shrimp is a nice opaque light pink color and in a loosely curled 'C' shape you know it's done. Add the marinade into the skillet pan and let it simmer for 2 minutes with the shrimp.
* If needed, cook the shrimp in two batches. Do not overcrowd the skillet pan because then you'll end up steaming the shrimp rather than searing the shrimp on each side. Make sure it's an even layer of shrimp with plenty of room for each shrimp to sear properly.
* Proper temperature for shrimp is 145° F
Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the shrimp. Serve over white rice and with a steamed vegetable on the side.

Notes

How To Tell If Shrimp Are OverCooked? One of the easiest ways to know if the shrimp is overcooked is by the shape of it and the color. Overcooked shrimp will be a matte white color and grayish looking, while properly cooked shrimp will be a opaque, light pink color. Another way is the shape of the shrimp. Perfectly cooked shrimp will be in a loose 'C' shape, while overcooked shrimp will be a tightly curled 'C' shape.

Make It Spicy! : The recipe as is, is suitable for kids even, but if you want to take it up in the spice level simply add 1-2 teaspoons of red pepper chili flakes (or red cayenne pepper) in with the other marinade ingredients. You can also serve this shrimp with a drizzle of sriracha sauce over it.

Tips For Cooking Shrimp : To get the best texture, juicy & tender, without any chewiness cook the shrimp at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time. Remove the shrimp from the hot pan when the flesh is uniformly pink and opaque looking, with no brown or grayish spots. Perfectly cooked shrimp will also loosely curl into a 'C' shape, while overcooked shrimp will be tightly curled in the same shape.

Another way to tell if the shrimp is cooked properly is to keep your eye on the thickest part of the shrimp and on the crevice of the shrimp (which is where the vein was removed from). Once that area turns from translucent to opaque and fleshy pink, it's done. The shrimp should also be in a loosely curled C shape when properly cooked.

Soy Sauce : The only salt called for in this recipe is from the soy sauce. I prefer using regular salted soy sauce, rather reduced-sodium, but feel free to use whichever one you prefer. If I have both kinds of soy sauce, sometimes I will also use half soy sauce + half reduced-sodium soy sauce.

Honey : If the 1/2 cup called for is too sweet for you, simply reduce it to 1/3 cup if needed. We prefer the recipe as is.

Frozen Shrimp : You can use frozen shrimp. It's so easy to keep frozen shrimp on hand for quick recipes like this one. If using frozen shrimp, make sure that you thaw it completely before proceeding with the recipe. I like to thaw the frozen shrimp in the fridge overnight.

Marinating Time? The recipe calls for 1 hour of marinating time. This is my preferred amount of time that will get you the best flavor. If you are short on time you can marinate for 20-30 minutes at the very least. I do not recommend letting the shrimp marinate for more than 2 hours. The shrimp will start to get rubbery if marinated for too long! No one wants that.

How To Store Leftover Cooked Shrimp : Put any leftovers inside a shallow, air-tight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Best Way To Reheat Shrimp? A challenge to reheating seafood is that it can dry out and you can get that 'fishy smell'. My preferred method is to put some shrimp inside a microwave-safe bowl, and put some water into the bottom of the bowl, reheat in 30-40 increments just until it's up to temperature again (internal temperature of 145 degrees F). The water helps keep the shrimp moist while reheating. You can also use this same method inside a skillet pan over medium heat on the stove top. I personally don't enjoy eating leftover seafood because of that fishy smell you can get when reheating it. To avoid this, you can eat leftover shrimp cold straight from the fridge if wanted. Like on top of a salad or something.

Nutrition