Honey Walnut Shrimp
by Chungah
Budget-friendly crispy shrimp tossed in a creamy, sweet sauce topped with caramelized walnuts! Tastes just like take-out, but BETTER!
I’m kind of a sucker for Chinese food. I could eat it on any given night, and whenever we order take-out, the honey walnut shrimp must always be ordered.
Always.
Now this dish involves an epic concoction of crispy battered shrimp tossed in a creamy, sweet sauce along with some candy-glazed walnuts.
It’s actually one of the most popular dishes at Chinese restaurants, but it’s also the most expensive dish on the menu. But sure enough, you could make this right at home for just $10! With one pound of shrimp, some walnuts, honey, condensed milk and a bit of mayo, you can easily recreate this on a tight budget.
But don’t be like me and hoard those walnuts.
They. are. dangerous.
You’ve been warned.
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup walnut halves
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons condensed milk
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Heat 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir, constantly, until golden and thickened. Add walnuts and gently toss to combine. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined plate.
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, honey and condensed milk; set aside.
- Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Working one at a time, dip the shrimp into the egg, then dredge in the cornstarch, pressing to coat.
- Working in batches, add the shrimp to the skillet, 8-10 at a time, and fry until evenly golden brown and crispy, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a large bowl, combine shrimp and honey mixture.
- Serve immediately, topped with walnuts.
Did you make this recipe?
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A regular go-to – the best recipe
The recipe was great. My problem is this page refreshes so much, and I have to “jump” to the recipe so often it’s seriously frustrating. I had to retype this comment because the page refreshed AGAIN in the middle of my comment so I had to start over. VERY FRUSTRATING when you’ve got multiple things cooking and you have to scroll AGAIN AND AGAIN to get to the recipe. Going to start screen shotting and saving to a folder.
This came out good. I used coconut milk because I didnt have any condensed milk. Overall very impressed. Save walnuts for last. Made too soon and got super sticky in pan.
Any advice on how to make the breading stick? Just tried this recipe and it was so simple and delicious! However I found a good chunk of my corn starch breading flaking off in the pan as I was frying.
We live in BC Canada and have only had this dish once years ago in Mesquite Nevada. But hubby and I loved it so I decided to look for a recipe. This is sooooo good and easy – thank you for sharing it! I’ll be making it again for sure!
I used to live and work in Mesquite, NV. Which casino did you get this at? I worked at the Virgin River for a short time.
I was hesitant about using this recipe but since I couldn’t find the one I planned to use I took a chance. I’m glad I lost my other recipe. This one is easier and more delicious. My husband said that it was the best. I agree with him. Yummy. Thanks.
The proportions are perfect and it’s delicious!
I made this tonight because just so happened to have all the ingredients plus the reviews on Pinterest were encouraging. Man, I have never had this at a restaurant but making this at home !!!!
Mind blown! Such an easy recipe to follow and it does taste just like the restaurants. Thanks so much!!
I’m so ready to try making this! it’s one of our favorites from Chinese takeout. I’m just a bit confused as to what happens with the walnuts after coating with sugar mixture. Do they get put in the oven to caramelize, or are they left as is?
You leave as is. Cuz the sugar mixture is heated so it will harden on to the walnut as it sits on the plate
Just finished a plate of this. First time it was actually a success! Not a ton of prep time. 10 of 10 would recommend
Best recipe I’ve seen. Don’t forget to have some rice ready!
Never mind my question. I got it. The honey mixture is the mayonnaise mixture and the walnuts are the walnuts. I thought the sugar water was the honey mixture for a minute there. Anyway, I’m making it as I type this and it’s going good so far.
Where does the mayonnaise mixture go?
Delicious!
I’m delighted to find a recipe so easy to make at home. We prefer not to have shrimp or fish leftover, so I can scale down the recipe for less waste. Thanks for sharing – it’s a winner!
I will make again. I added a little mustard to the sauce. Followed the recipe. I overcooked the walnuts i forgot sugar keeps cooking so the walnuts were a little overdone but it was still a home run.
This is much better with very little, or better yet with NO mayonnaise… I’m not real sure why it’s even added….also… Instead of sweetened condensed milk I used heavy cream and doubled the sugar. It is excellent like this!
So, basically you don’t like honey walnut shrimp?
You’ve made a completely different dish.
As to why mayonnaise is “even added”, it’s a traditional ingredient in this Chinese-American dish.
Outstanding! I’ll definitively make this again.
This recipe was amazing! My family loved it one of the best honey walnut shrimp I’ve ever had. Complements to the chef if you know what I mean. The taste is so exquisite brought me to tears.
Amazing! The best honey walnut prawns I’ve ever had. The only small problem was after 10 minutes I couldn’t get the walnut glaze to turn golden, so I’m going to pay with candied walnut recipes, but the shrimp was wonderful.