The Best Chinese Hunan Shrimp with Vegetables

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This Spicy Hunan Shrimp recipe is made with plump and juicy shrimp and a hot and spicy stir fry sauce. It’s a quick and easy dinner that takes less than 25 minutes to make!

If you love spicy stir fries, you’ll love this one with shrimp and crisp green beans. The thick and spicy Hunan sauce is also super simple to make!

You can adjust the spice level if you need to and you can swap in your favorite stir-fried vegetables, so it’s a totally customizable stir fry recipe!

For an easy weeknight dinner, serve this Chinese hot and spicy shrimp with some steamed rice, fried rice or this coconut jasmine rice. You can also serve it over noodles!

If you love easy shrimp recipes like we do, you’ll also want to try this hibachi shrimp, sous vide shrimp, sweet chili shrimp and Instant Pot shrimp!

Jump to:

• What is Hunan shrimp?
• Why this recipe works
• Hunan Shrimp Ingredients
• Step by step instructions
• Expert tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Storage and reheating
• More Chinese recipes
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is Hunan shrimp?

Hunan style shrimp is a Chinese American shrimp stir fry recipe with origins in the Hunan province of China. It’s savory and spicy with chili paste as a key ingredient.

Why this recipe works

1. This recipe requires minimal prep work, especially if you buy shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined.
2. It’s a quick, flavorful and easy stir-fry. It takes less than 25 minutes from start to finish! 
3. You can adjust the spiciness to suit your taste, and you can change up the veggies to use what you have on hand. (Suggestions included below).

Hunan Shrimp Ingredients

For a full list of ingredients and quantities, refer to the recipe card below.

You’ll need 1 pound of large shrimp for this recipe, peeled and deveined. Any large or jumbo shrimp will work but I like to use 21/25 sized shrimp. If you only have shrimp with the shell-on, you can peel and devein them yourself by following this tutorial on how to peel and devein shrimp. 

For the veggies, the recipe calls for 6 ounces of green beans, cut into 3-inch pieces and 4 tablespoons of chopped green onions. Green beans are a popular addition to this stir fry and you can use fresh or frozen (although I prefer to use fresh).

For the Hunan sauce, you’ll need a cornstarch slurry made with 2 teaspoons of water mixed with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.

The sauce also includes 1 tablespoon of spicy bean paste, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, ½ teaspoon of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine. 

Spicy bean paste is also called Doubanjiang and it’s a fermented bean paste usually made from soybeans, broad beans and red chili peppers.

Shaoxing wine is a Chinese cooking rice wine. If you don’t have any, you can substitute with dry sherry or another type of rice wine.

The rice vinegar adds a tangy flavor to the Hunan sauce. In a pinch, you can use white wine vinegar.

Step by step instructions

Mix the spicy sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. **Make sure the cornstarch slurry is fully mixed before adding to the remaining sauce ingredients.

Heat the oil in a wok or high sided large skillet over medium-high heat.

Pat the shrimp dry and cook in the oil until pink throughout. Remove and set aside.

Add the green beans and fry until they start to blister on the outside.

Add the garlic and green onions and cook for about 30 seconds, until the garlic starts to brown.

Add the shrimp and the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens and coats everything.

Remove and serve garnished with additional green onions and steamed white rice. You can drizzle with a tiny touch of sesame oil for a toasted sesame flavor.

Expert tips

1. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture before frying them.
2. Instead of shrimp, you can use prawns or another protein like chicken. (Hunan chicken is also delicious!)
3. If you can’t find spicy chili bean paste, you can use another type of spicy chili paste like sambal oelek or use this homemade sambal belacan. 
4. This stir fry is spicy. To reduce the heat, you can use less chili paste or use a milder paste. To add more, add some fresh hot peppers.
5. Shrimp cook quickly so be careful not to overcook them as they will get chewy and rubbery.
6. Instead of green beans, you can add red bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli and/or onions. Just make sure the veggies you choose cook quickly and at the same rate.
7. You can use fresh or frozen shrimp for this stir fry. If you only have frozen shrimp, you'll need to thaw them first so they cook faster and evenly.
8. Defrost frozen shrimp in the fridge overnight. If you’re short on time, you can quickly thaw them by placing the shrimp in a ziplock bag and submerging in cold water for 20 minutes. 
9. Shrimp cook quickly so you’ll want to remove them from the heat when they go from translucent to opaque.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage and reheating

We prefer Hunan shrimp hot and fresh. If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

You can reheat this shrimp stir fry in the microwave or in a skillet on the stovetop. Be careful not to overcook as the shrimp will get chewy and the veggies will get soft.

More Chinese recipes

• Shrimp Lo Mein
• Kung pao calamari
• Air Fryer General Tso’s Chicken
• Shanghai Chicken
• Chinese Braised Pork Belly
• Air Fryer Sesame Chicken

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