Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry

Crisp green broccoli and sweet onions, with briny shrimp, glistens with the best-tasting brown sauce. Don’t you just love the soy-based brown sauce in Chinese restaurants? Have you been like me, searching for a homemade version of this perfect-for-stir-fries sauce?

What is it about the brown sauce that’s part of so many Chinese dinners? It has just the right saltiness, sweetness, and tanginess that complements almost everything. I tried different recipes, trying to get the right balance of ingredients. I made a lot of good sauces but not one that tasted like that yummy brown sauce.

Well, ta-da! Search no further! This sauce has become my go-to stir fry sauce. It tastes like THE BROWN SAUCE! It is the brown sauce! Yes, you can make your favorite Chinese dishes at home.

About this Shrimp Stir Fry

While this stir fry is made with shrimp, broccoli, and onions, you can substitute any protein or vegetable. Use your favorites and adjust the cooking time if necessary. The sauce ingredients will remain the same although I usually double them because I like a LOT of sauce. Since I usually end up cutting way more vegetables than the recipe calls for, a little extra sauce isn’t a bad thing.

Ingredient Notes

• Shrimp: Whether you choose frozen or fresh, buy peeled shrimp with the heads and tails off, and deveined. I love frozen shrimp and always keep a bag in my freezer for quick dinners. It thaws in just five minutes or so under cold running water. It’s a lifesaver!
• Broccoli: Look for a nice compact head of broccoli that’s dark green with firm stems. Freshness really matters in a broccoli stir fry.
• Onion: Pretty much any kind of onion goes. Use what you happen to have on hand.
• Oil for the stir fry: Use an oil with a high smoke point that can withstand the high heat of a stir fry: canola, vegetable, peanut, grapeseed, or avocado. This is not the place to use your extra-virgin olive oil.
• Soy Sauce: Choose low-sodium soy sauce if you can. Buy a good quality soy sauce because it’s the foundation of the brown sauce.
• Rice Wine Vinegar: This colorless and somewhat sweet vinegar is used in a lot of Asian cooking. Sometimes it’s called rice vinegar. Don’t substitute rice wine or buy the seasoned rice vinegar which has added salt and sugar.
• Brown Sugar: Dark or light brown sugar, doesn’t matter. Sugar adds sweet caramel notes to the sauce.
• Ginger and Garlic: Use fresh if you can. They both add so much flavor to the sauce.
• Cornstarch: Commonly used as a thickener, cornstarch is stirred into the sauce ingredients before cooking.
• Toasted Sesame Oil and Sriracha: These flavor agents pack a punch. They are optional and use them sparingly at first unless you already know you love them.
• Sliced Green Onions and Sesame Seeds: Also optional, but garnishes really add a nice touch.
• Steamed White Rice: Try jasmine rice! It has a slightly nutty, floral taste that is simply amazing. Cook jasmine rice on the stovetop or in your Instant Pot. Start the rice first so it’s ready when the stir fry is. If you’re looking for a low-carb option, try cauliflower rice.

How to make Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry

Have everything prepped and ready to go. Is the rice cooking? Did you thaw and pat dry the shrimp? Are the veggies cut into nice uniform pieces? Check, check, check! Once your pan is heated, everything moves really fast.

Make the sauce. There’s one more step before you get the pan going. Stir up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Make sure to whisk in the cornstarch so it’s completely dissolved. You’l want to give it another quick stir before adding it to the pan.

Stir fry vegetables. Start heating a large frying pan with curved sides, or a wok, on the stove. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. It should shimmer if your pan is hot enough. Add the broccoli and onion along with a pinch of salt. Stir and fry for eight to ten minutes or until it looks almost done.

Steam broccoli. Put it into a bowl and cover the bowl with a plate or lid. The broccoli will steam and cook just a bit more. If you don’t want it to cook further, leave the bowl uncovered.

Stir fry shrimp. The pan should still be hot. Add another tablespoon of oil and the shrimp (in a single layer). Sprinkle a little more salt on the shrimp. Don’t stir! I know, it seems weird but just let the shrimp sizzle for a couple of minutes. While it’s doing that, give your sauce another quick stir.

Cook sauce. Now stir the shrimp and immediately add the sauce ingredients, stirring constantly. You can also add the veggies back in now. The sauce will thicken and turn clear almost immediately because the pan is really hot.

Serve. Take the pan off the heat and serve immediately over the steamed rice. Garnish with a sprinkle of sliced green onions and sesame seeds if you like. They really do look pretty and the green onions add an especially nice flavor.

What is Brown Sauce?

Perhaps you’ve ordered a dish and wondered what that delicious brown sauce was called. I did a little research and found that the brown sauce we all love at American Chinese restaurants is usually just called “brown sauce.” If you’re looking for the Chinese word, I can’t help you out. Maybe one of my readers can, I’d love to hear from you.
The brown sauce is usually made with soy sauce, broth, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and cornstarch for thickening. Recipes vary widely (I used Fly By Jing as my reference). Brown sauce is somewhat similar to teriyaki sauce.

Recipe Variations

• Substitute or add different vegetables. This is a stir fry so you can pretty much do what you like. Good choices for stir fries are mushrooms, carrots, sugar peas, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, and the list goes on….
• Substitute another protein: If you’re not a seafood fan, try boneless chicken, steak, pork, or tofu.
• Keto: Omit the brown sugar. Replace the cornstarch with another thickener, such as arrowroot powder. Serve with cauliflower rice.
• Don’t care for rice? Serve shrimp with broccoli over orzo, couscous, rice noodles, linguine or another pasta of your choice. Non-pasta choices are quinoa, barley, or cauliflower rice.
• Looking for a different kind of sauce? Try my spicy Kung Pao shrimp or honey walnut shrimp. Keep reading for more stir fry recipes. I also love the honey garlic sauce in this Instant Pot honey sriracha chicken. It goes really, really well with broccoli!

Make Ahead Ideas

Get a head start: Prep a few things in the morning or even the night before so that when dinner time rolls around, you’ll be ready to go! Prep the broccoli and onions, cover or put into a plastic bag and refrigerate. Mince the garlic and ginger and make the sauce; cover the bowl and refrigerate. Move the bag of frozen shrimp from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw. Most of the time-consuming work is done. Dinner will be so easy to make!

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate: Store leftover stir fry and rice in separate containers if you like although I find that mixing them together before storing them keeps the rice from getting really dry. The leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat: Gently warm leftovers in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave. Don’t overcook the stir-fry when you reheat it: the shrimp will get tough and the broccoli will lose its crispness.

Leftover Love

Combine all the leftovers, including the rice, with a good amount of unsalted chicken stock to make soup. How much chicken stock you need depends on how much stir fry you have left over. If you like, add a bit more soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, or Sriracha. If you don’t have much rice left over, add ramen noodles.