This spicy orange shrimp is ready in a flash and full of flavour. Enjoy with rice or with some stir-fried or steamed bok choy for a quick and easy meal in less than 30 minutes!
Having shrimp in the freezer means a quick and easy dinner is always at hand. Add some orange marmalade to the shrimp, and you can be enjoying this delicious spicy orange shrimp in just minutes!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Shrimp – Start with raw shrimp (not cooked) that have been peeled and deveined. Look for bags in the 31-40 pieces per lb. range. I’m a big fan of Argentinian shrimp, as they are nice and meaty. Unlike regular raw shrimp, that is grey in colour when uncooked, Argentinian shrimp are pink when raw. As such, you’ll want to watch the time as the colour change won’t be a signal that they are cooked through.
To thaw shrimp quickly, submerge the frozen shrimp in a large bowl of cold water for 15-20 minutes.
Orange marmalade – Any brand of orange marmalade is fine to use here.
Asian chili garlic sauce – Look for Asian chili garlic sauce in the Asian sauce section of your grocery store. You can substitute Sambal Oelek (in lesser quantity, as it is spicier) or, in a pinch, Sriracha will work as well. In all cases, adjust the amount to your tolerance for spiciness.
How to make orange shrimp
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete ingredient list and instructions in the Recipe Card below when making the recipe.
- Start by adding the orange zest, garlic and red pepper flakes to a hot skillet with a little oil.
- Add the green onion and cook briefly.
- Add the orange marmalade mixture to the skillet.
- Cook the sauce briefly to reduce it.
- Add the thickener (cornstarch and orange juice) to the sauce and stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat briefly while you cook the shrimp.
- Toss the thawed shrimp in some cornstarch, then add to a hot skillet with a little oil. (I’m using Argentinian shrimp here, which are pink-coloured when raw. They are wonderful meaty shrimp, but it can be harder to judge when they are cooked. Regular raw shrimp will change from grey to pink when cooked.)
- Cook the shrimp until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Return the sauce to the heat and add the cooked shrimp. Cook the shrimp with the sauce until warmed and well-coated with sauce. Garnish with additional green onion and sesame seeds and serve with orange slices.
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- You could cook the shrimp first and remove them to a plate before making the sauce if you like. I like to do the sauce first so I don’t risk over-cooking the shrimp when re-heating it.
- To serve, you can spoon the spicy orange shrimp over some rice and add a green vegetable (broccoli or broccolini is always nice.) You could also skip the rice and serve simply with quick-sauteed or steamed bok choy.
- If serving with rice, you could double the sauce if you like to have some extra to flavour the rice as well.
- Adjust the amount of chili flakes and Asian chili garlic sauce to suit your taste for spiciness.
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Get the Recipe: Spicy Orange Shrimp
Ingredients
Spicy Orange Sauce:
- 1/4 cup orange marmalade
- 2 teaspoons honey, or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, low-sodium recommended
- 1-2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce, or Sriracha or 1/2-1 tsp Sambal Oelek
For the skillet:
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, or similar neutral-tasting cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the angle
For thickening the sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the shrimp:
- 1 lb raw shrimp, 31-40 count/lb, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen and dried on paper towel.
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2-3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, or similar neutral-tasting cooking oil
For garnish:
- remaining sliced green onion
- 1-2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- fresh orange zest or wedges
Instructions
- Tips! To quickly thaw frozen shrimp, place the frozen shrimp in a large bowl of cold water. Fill the bowl completely and place a plate overtop to keep them submerged. Allow to soak in the cold water for 15-20 minutes to thaw, then pat dry with paper towel. If serving with rice, start the rice cooking before you start the rest of the recipe.
- Make the spicy orange sauce by combining the marmalade, honey, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce a small bowl. Set aside. Combine the garlic, red pepper flakes and orange zest in another small bowl and set aside as well.
- Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. When oil just shimmers, add the garlic/orange zest mixture and allow to cook 30 seconds or so until fragrant. Add about 2/3 of the green onion (reserving the remaining green onion for garnish) and cook another 30 seconds. Add the marmalade mixture to the skillet, stir together well and allow to simmer for about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, use a small whisk to combine the fresh orange juice and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl. Add this slurry mixture to the skillet and whisk continuously for 1 final minute until the sauce is thickened. Remove from the heat until the shrimp is ready.
- Add the shrimp to a bowl and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Toss the dry shrimp with the 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Heat the 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil in another skillet over medium heat until quite hot. Add the shrimp and cook until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.
- Return the skillet with the sauce to the heat over medium heat. Add the shrimp to the skillet and stir until warmed through and well-coated with sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and remaining green onion. Add some orange zest or orange wedges for serving. Serve with rice and a green vegetable (broccoli or broccolini is nice!).
Notes
- You could cook the shrimp first and remove them to a plate before making the sauce if you like. I like to do the sauce first so I don’t risk over-cooking the shrimp when re-heating it.
- If you only have one skillet, cook the shrimp first and remove to a plate, then wipe the skillet to make the sauce.
- If you like to have some extra sauce for the rice, you might want to double the sauce.
- Adjust the amount of chili flakes and Asian chili garlic sauce to suit your taste for spiciness.
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
This was delicious for a weeknight meal! The sauce wasn’t overly sweet, and I loved the heat from the spice added.
So glad you enjoyed it, Bethany :) Thanks so much!
Jennifer – Step 4 says to mix the 2 Tbsp orange juice with 1/2 tsp corn starch. But the ingredients list calls for 2 Tbsp juice and 1 tsp corn starch. What happens to the other 1/2 tsp of corn starch . . .
Cheers, El
Hi El, and sorry, that was just a typo on my part. You should use the full 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with the orange juice. I have fixed it now. Thanks for pointing that out.