Honey Walnut Shrimp is a delicious Chinese banquet dish that’s recently been popularized by various Chinese fast-food chains in the West! These lightly-battered crispy shrimp are fried to perfection and tossed with a rich, savory sauce before being topped with candied walnuts.

Make these for yourself and skip the line at Panda Express for the perfect home-cooked meal!

What is Honey Walnut Shrimp?

If you’ve ever been to a Western Chinese fast-food chain or buffet (one of the most famous ones being Panda Express!), then you may have already come across this delicious dish…

Honey Walnut Shrimp is traditionally a Chinese banquet dish, served alongside other courses of food for special occasions like New Years or weddings!

It’s made up of prawns or shrimp that’s battered and deep fried until light and crispy. We then coat it with a savory and sweet sauce of mayonnaise, honey, and a splash of lime juice. Of course, don’t forget about the candied walnuts that we stir into it as well that completes the whole dish (they’re great for munching on as a snack!).

Ingredients for Honey Walnut Shrimp

Shrimp: you can buy either shrimp or prawns for this recipe. Make sure you de-shell and clean them beforehand so we can easily coat it with the batter (or just buy them de-shelled and pre-deveined from the store!). We’ll be marinating these with some soy sauce and white pepper before coating it with a light batter made with flour, cornstarch, salt, and carbonated water!
Walnuts: Honey Walnut Shrimp isn’t Honey Walnut Shrimp without these. We’ll be caramelizing the nuts with some sugar and water.
Sauce: This is a simple mixture of Kewpie mayonnaise, honey, condensed milk, sesame oil, and lime juice! Feel free to substitute the Kewpie mayo with the regular Western kind if you don’t have access to any.

Instructions

Prepare the candied walnuts:

In a pot, mix together the water, sugar, and walnuts. Bring this mixture to a boil and stir frequently to avoid burning.

Continue boiling to reduce the liquid into a sticky, caramelized syrup for about 5-8 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when most of the sugar water has evaporated and the walnuts have become shiny.

Spread the candied walnuts onto a plate to cool (do not use paper towels as the sugars will stick!). Set aside for later.

Prepare the Honey Walnut Shrimp:

Marinate the shrimp with the soy sauce, white pepper, and flour for 15 minutes.

Prepare the dredge by whisking all the ingredients together until you achieve a thin batter consistency. Add in the marinated shrimp and mix evenly to coat.

Fry the shrimp in batches until golden for about 2-3 minutes, or until crispy and cooked all the way through. Set aside.

Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together until smooth. Add in the shrimp and toss until evenly coated.

Coating the shrimp with the honey walnut shrimp sauce

Garnish with candied walnuts, sesame seeds, and green onions. Enjoy!

Final Tips

Try to serve the Honey Walnut Shrimp immediately! They’re best consumed fresh since the shrimp can start to lose its crispiness after about an hour of being tossed with the sauce.
Let the walnuts rest for at least 10-15 minutes before eating/mixing with the shrimp. Since it’s coated with caramelized sugar, they’ll progressively get more crunchy the longer it sits. You can actually make a huge batch of these candied walnuts for future Honey Walnut Shrimp or simply just as a tasty snack.
Using carbonated water is a classic way to make any fried food crunchier. This is because the trapped gas bubbles in the water expand when heated, resulting with an airier, lighter product. If you don’t have any carbonated water on hand, then regular water should work just fine.
Some people may find the dish to be very rich on its own, so the best way to cut through its richness is by serving it alongside some veggies or rice for a more complete meal (e.g., broccoli, cucumber, bell pepper, fried rice, etc.)

If you’re loving these delicious homemade meals, then definitely give some of these recipes a try: