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This Vietnamese Easy Garlic Shrimp is hands down my favorite way to cook shrimp. Golden seared on the outside, juicy inside, and drenched in spicy chili garlic sauce. You can have this Paleo, Whole30, and Keto Garlic Shrimp stir-fry all year round!
Pair the sweet juicy garlic jumbo shrimp with my Vietnamese air fried chicken wings and Shirataki noodle salad for a fantastic food feast!
This Vietnamese Easy Garlic Shrimp is a total crowd pleaser to make all year round. Healthy and easy Paleo shrimp recipe packs with loads of flavor. Pair the spicy garlic shrimp with a side of broccoli fried rice or Instant Pot mashed sweet potatoes for a low carb, Whole30, and Paleo meal!
Vietnamese Easy Garlic Shrimp With Big Flavors!
My easy garlic shrimp stir-fry is inspired by Vietnamese Tom Rim – Vietnamese caramelized shrimp recipe. It’s an easy stir-fried shrimp dish with a sweet and savory sauce. I omitted the sugar in the traditional recipes because coconut aminos naturally taste sweeter and once the sauce hits the hot skillet the caramelization turns the sauce sweet naturally.
To make a really awesome Spicy Garlic Shrimp Vietnamese-style, you’ll need to pre-heat the skillet really well. If you aren’t sure how to pre-heat your skillet, check out the article I wrote about how to make the best pan-seared beef stir-fry. I talked about how to properly prepare your skillet and test the temperature for the perfect sear!
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This easy garlic shrimp stir-fry literally takes minutes to make! The only time you need is probably waiting for the shrimp to get marinated. I recommend that you marinate the shrimp for 30 minutes before stir-frying.
The bold flavor of this garlic shrimp recipe comes from the fragrant oil with garlic, chili, and scallions. My grandmother always says that once you fragrant oil it then further fragrant everything else. So don’t be shy away from using tons of aromatics. I remove the seeds of the chili peppers so they are mainly for color purposes. It won’t be that spicy. :))
Sometimes, you’ll also find people use shallots to replace scallions. I think both are interchangeable so feel free to swap the ingredients.
Is shrimp on the Whole30 diet?
Yes. Shrimp is Whole30 friendly. Shrimp is easy to prepare and an excellent source of lean protein. My Vietnamese easy garlic shrimp, Shrimp and zucchini noodle pasta, and Chinese jumbo shrimp stir-fry are all low carb, keto, paleo, and Whole30.
Pair This Stir-Fried Vietnamese Garlic Shrimp With These Side Dishes:
- Chinese garlic smashed cucumbers
- Japanese spinach salad
- Chinese carrot-celery slaw
- Bok choy dim sum
- Baby bok choy stir-fry with shiitake
- Chinese broccoli stir-fry
- Snow pea leaves stir-fry
- Chinese mustard greens
- More side dishes here
If you give this Vietnamese Easy Garlic Shrimp a try, please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’ll help more people see my blog so that I can continue sharing more healthy and delicious Asian-inspired Paleo recipes with you! Thanks in advance!
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Vietnamese Easy Garlic Shrimp (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
Ingredients
Vietnamese easy garlic shrimp marinade:
- 1 lb. large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tsp garlic minced (about 1 clove)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ⅛ tsp coarse sea salt
Other:
- 0.8 oz. garlic minced (about 4 cloves)
- 3 bulbs scallions diced and use only white & pale green parts
- 1.5 oz. red serrano or fresno chili peppers deseeded and finely chopped
- 4 tbsp avocado oil divided
- 1 tbsp I Heart Umami Vegetarian Oyster Sauce or 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- Small handful Cilantro leaves chopped. Optional
Instructions
- Butterfly shrimp by inserting a knife about three-quarters of the way into shrimp near the head and cut nearly all the way down the center of the shrimp’s back to the tail.
- Combine shrimp with garlic, fish sauce, and salt in a bowl. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare garlic, scallions, and chili peppers. Set them in one bowl.
- Preheat a wok or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until it feels too hot to place your palm near the surface (about 2-3 inches away from the skillet), add 2 tbsp oil. Swil to distribute the oil evenly.
- Turn the heat to high. Be careful the splatter. Add shrimp and try to distribute them in one even layer. Fry about 2 minutes without touching then flip to cook 1 minute additional. Set them aside in a medium size serving plate.
- Your skillet should be dry (not waterat this point before moving onto the next step.
- While the skillet is still hot, over medium-high heat, add 2 tbsp oil. Add garlic, scallions, and chili. Season with a pinch of salt and saute the aromatics until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
- Add vegetarian oyster sauce and quickly stir-fry the sauce with the aromatics for about 5 seconds. Off heat, spoon the mixture along with the oil over the shrimp.
- Garnish with cilantro, if using. Serve with steamed white rice (for gluten-free meal) or cauliflower rice (low carb).
Notes
- In the winter, cover the sautéed shrimp with a foil wrap to keep warm while you make the sauce.
- If you aren’t sure how to preheat your skillet, check out this article.
- You can also garnish the dish with chopped green scallion parts.
- I use my homemade vegetarian oyster sauce (made with shiitake) for extra flavor and depth. I highly recommend that you give this sauce a try. If in a hurry, use coconut aminos instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More healthy and delicious Paleo recipes:
- Halibut Lemon Piccata (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
- Paleo Salmon Cakes (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
- Stir-Fried Beef in Oyster Sauce (Paleo, Whole30, Gluten-Free)
- Thai Larb (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
- Paleo Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad (Paleo, Whole30)
- Thai Basil Beef Stir-Fry (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
- Paleo Asian Coleslaw
- Keto shrimp avocado salad
- Chinese shrimp and broccoli stir-fry!
- Thai cauliflower fried rice with shrimp!
- Vietnamese dipping sauce (Nuoc Cham) (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
Followed this recipe with a few substitutions – it was a little bit too salty for my taste (maybe i was a bit heavy handed with the oyster sauce haha). Still delicious and will make again!c
Store bought oyster sauce is definitely saltier. You can either reduce the quantity or use less fish sauce. I used my homemade vegetarian oyster sauce so it’s less salty. 🙂 https://iheartumami.com/vegetarian-oyster-sauce/
So easy and delicious! I made this for my mom and grandmother when they came to visit and they were super impressed. Such a great way to add flavor to a meal. The colors of the dish are so beautiful and make for a great presentation when hosting. Will totally be making again.
Thank you, Sarah!
Made this tonight! Absolutely delicious!! So quick and easy. I used thai birds eye chillies and basmati rice. I was so happy.
On your Vietnamese Dipping Sauce recipe (which I love), you mentioned this dish as a recommendation to serve the dipping sauce with. Does the dipping sauce replace one of the ingredients in this shrimp dish? Or is the dipping sauce just to drizzle over this dish when done?
Hi Colleen! Sorry I can see why it can be confusing. I was referring to the flavor profile – both dishes have similar flavor. I just updated the pairing recommendation lists to make it more relevant and clear. Thanks for pointing it out.
Can I marinate over night?
I don’t recommend it. It’ll be too salty, especially with the fish sauce. Please follow my recipe instructions. Thanks.
I’m sorry if this was already asked, does it matter if you use a red or green Serrano pepper?
HI Teresa, please feel free to use green serrano peppers 🙂
Loved this dish!
The Serrano peppers were perfect with the amount of spice it provided.
The aroma…the simplicity of the ingredients…the taste. All great
Plan to make this dish again
Awesome! Thank you!
So easy to make and tastes amazing! I think adding some sautéed watercress or edamame would be great as well.