“This is great. You just keep bringing me shrimp to eat,” Craig remarked from the couch last night as I tested various versions of Asian Glazed Shrimp for this post.
Most people I know like shrimp. But Craig and some of his Blean relatives really like shrimp. A couple years ago at a Blean family Christmas at Craig’s grandma’s, we played a table game where one person drew and read aloud a card that had a fill-in-the-blank sentence. Everyone else jotted down the first thing that came to mind, folded up the answer, and returned it to the reader. That person read aloud the answers, and everyone else guessed whose it was. One card said, “I wish that [blank] grew on trees.” Of course there were several “money” responses, but someone wrote that they wished “shrimp cocktail” grew on trees. I was certain it was Craig’s. We had been eating a lot of shrimp cocktail, especially since it was the holiday season. But it turned out to be his Aunt Sarah. They’re definitely related.
Back in June, I bought an air fryer and made several different recipes with it. I gotta admit, I was less than impressed and fairly disappointed. I didn’t get the hype. For that reason, the air fryer sat idle for three months.
I’ve been craving Asian glazed shrimp similar to kind found at Granite City or Bonefish Grill. I didn’t want to batter it or put a ton of breadcrumbs on it. But I wanted the shrimp to have a bit of crunch to the outside. So I busted out the air fryer to give it a shot at redemption. And it sure did redeem itself. I tossed the shrimp in cornstarch, spritzed them with some olive oil spray before air frying. And the result was a crisp coating on the shrimp that the Asian glaze could cling to.
Serve Air Fryer Asian Glazed Shrimp with some cauliflower rice or other veggies sides for a complete dinner. Or like last week’s Slow Cooker Espinaca Dip, it makes a scrumptious appetizer to share on game day!
The Method
Coat shrimp with cornstarch. Spritz the bottom of the air fryer with olive oil spray to prevent sticking. Place shrimp in the bottom of the fryer basket and spritz the tops of the shrimp until they’re lightly covered (approximately 10-15 sprays). Cook in air fryer at 350 for 5 minutes. Remove fryer basket, using tongs, flip shrimp over, and lightly spritz this side (approximately 10-15 sprays). Cook for another 5 minutes.
While shrimp is cooking, make the sauce by combining soy sauce, sweet Thai chili sauce, garlic and ginger in a medium bowl and whisk well. If desired, you can heat the sauce in a sauce pan over medium heat for 5 minutes to make it thicker. I didn’t do this, but it would make the sauce a bit stickier if that’s what you’re going for.
Add cooked shrimp to the sauce bowl or pan. Using tongs, toss shrimp to fully coat in sauce.
To serve, spoon any leftover sauce on top of shrimp and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
*Note: if you don’t have an air fryer, you can make Asian Glazed Shrimp in the oven. Just follow the same instructions, but instead place shrimp on a baking sheet and cook in the oven. **Or you could fry in a pan or wok on the stove top over medium heat, although cook time would be about 3-4 minutes per side.
Air Fryer Asian Glazed Shrimp
Air Fryer Asian Glazed Shrimp
Notes
*Note: if you don't have an air fryer, you can make Asian Glazed Shrimp in the oven. Follow the same instructions, only place shrimp on a baking sheet and cook in the oven instead of the air fryer.
**Or you could fry in a pan or wok on the stove top over medium heat, although cook time would be about 3-4 minutes per side.
***Serving size will depend upon the size of shrimp you use. The extra jumbo that I used yields about 4-5 shrimp per serving.
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, (I used extra jumbo 16/20, tail-on)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- olive oil spray (approx. 30 sprays)
- 3 tbsp of sweet Thai chili sauce
- 3 tbsp of reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/8 tsp of minced or crushed ginger
- 1 tbsp green onions, sliced (optional garnish)
- 1 tsp of sesame seeds (optional garnish)
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires preheating, set it to 350. Coat shrimp with cornstarch. Spritz the bottom of the air fryer with olive oil spray to prevent sticking. Place shrimp in the bottom of the fryer basket and spritz the tops of the shrimp until they're lightly covered (approximately 10-15 sprays). Cook in air fryer at 350 for 5 minutes. Remove fryer basket, and flip shrimp over using tongs. Lightly spritz this top side (approximately 10-15 sprays). Cook for another 5 minutes.
- While shrimp is cooking, make the sauce by combining soy sauce, sweet Thai chili sauce, garlic and ginger in a medium bowl and whisk well. (If desired, you can heat the sauce in a sauce pan over medium heat for 5 minutes to thicken it.)
- Add cooked shrimp to the sauce bowl or pan. Using tongs, toss shrimp to fully coat in sauce. To serve, spoon any leftover sauce on top of shrimp and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
Another delicious recipe! I will definitely try this one. It’s so easy too!