Sweet and Sour Shrimp With Broccoli

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Sweet & 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.

Skillet of sweet and sour shrimp with broccoli.

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

Shrimp ingredients including ketchup, ginger, and soy sauce.

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

Whisk in a bowl of sweet and sour sauce.

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.

Whisk in a bowl of sweet and sour sauce.

Prep the scallions, garlic, and ginger.

Diced vegetables on a cutting board.

Set a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the light green scallions, ginger, and garlic.

Scallions, ginger, and garlic in a skillet.

Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 2 minutes. Do not brown.

Spoon stirring scallions, ginger, and garlic in a skillet.

Add the shrimp.

Shrimp in a skillet.

Cook, stirring frequently, until mostly pink and curled, but not cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Skillet of cooked shrimp.

Add the sauce and broccoli to the pan.

Broccoli in a skillet with shrimp.

Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thickened and the shrimp and broccoli are cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Shrimp and broccoli mixture in a skillet.

Sprinkle the dark green scallions over top.

Scallions in a skillet with a shrimp and broccoli mixture.

Serve with rice and enjoy.

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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.

Servings: 4 to 6
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • 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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Comments

  • This was really good and everyone liked it. I can’t tolerate raw scallions so I added some more chili sauce to my dish for some extra zing as a personal preference.

    • — Paula on January 8, 2024
    • Reply
  • Made this last night consistent with recipe and it turned out great. Highly recommend.

    • — George on October 24, 2023
    • Reply
  • Made this for dinner with friends and served with cauliflower rice. I did add 1 red bell pepper and 1 sweet onion, both chopped and sautéed briefly with the broccoli in another pan before I added to the shrimp, garlic, green onions, and ginger. Really good. Will definitely make again.

    • — Liz on January 22, 2023
    • Reply
  • Great recipe and very easy to make. Dish turned out delicious. Thank you.

    • — Renee’ on October 29, 2022
    • Reply
  • This was very good, I liked the sour notes in the sauce. Not your typical sweet & sour takeout.

    • — Nicky on October 27, 2022
    • Reply
  • An excellent and easy recipe! It’s so easy to mix the sauce ingredients and set those aside while doing the minimal prep work with the broccoli, scallions and shrimp. Don’t discount the importance of ketchup as a key ingredient in the sauce. It is frequently used in many Asian restaurants in North America. Ketchup is an extremely complicated, carefully balanced sauce. (It tried to make it once and learned how complex it actually is.)
    I made a couple of procedural modifications:
    I doubled the amount of sambal oeleck—we like a little heat.
    Rather than mincing the garlic and ginger, I smashed the garlic cloves and sliced the ginger into little coins before frying them in the oil. Once they had infused their flavors into the oil, I plucked them out and added the white part of the scallions.
    Easy, tasty, adaptable. Checks every box on the survey!

    • — Jeffery Gainer
    • Reply
  • Outstanding, pretty much hit all five of the flavours perfectly. I cut back the chilli sauce to 1 teaspoon and it was just right for us.

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