This Chinese style Curry Prawns stir fry is super simple, delicious and can be on the dinner table in less than 30 minutes! Tender prawns, with stir fried vegetables, coated in a tasty curry sauce with garlic, ginger and Chinese five spice. Have it mild, or spicy – this recipe is customisable to your liking!

A skillet full of curry prawns stir fry.

I absolutely love Chinese food, but let’s face it, takeaway is not getting any cheaper! Nor are the prices of seafood. So I tend to jump on it when the raw prawns come on special.

Chinese style Curry Prawns

Cooking prawns may seem intimidating, but it’s actually very simple! The secret is to fry them until lightly seared and cooked through, which takes roughly 2 minutes! Then remove from the pan. In fact, prawns can make a great, healthy mid-week dinner. Like this quick and easy Chinese style Curry Prawns stir fry.

Unlike other Asian Curry Prawns recipes, this one is made without coconut milk. What you get is tender stir fried prawns, with crisp vegetables, loaded with ginger and a heap of garlic! Coated in a delicious, gravy like sauce, spiced with curry powder, Chinese five spice and soya sauce. Think Cantonese Singapore noodles, but saucy and without the noodles! Serve it in a traditional sizzling hot plate Szechuan style, like at an authentic Chinese restaurant with some special fried rice on the side.

Why this is the BEST recipe

There are many reasons to love this Curry Prawns recipe, but here’s a few:

It is simple, but super tasty – making it perfect for a mid-week dinner!
It takes less than 10 minutes to cook!
No difficult cooking techniques!
Uses only one skillet or wok – so easy clean up!
Uses ingredients you can easily find at the supermarket!
Is loaded with veggie goodness and protein!

Nutrition

Stir fries are not only very convenient, but they can be a great healthy dinner option. Especially when made from scratch. Traditional stir fries use mostly fresh vegetables and smaller amounts of lean protein. This is a good balance, and the more vegetables used, the greater the variety of nutrients.

This Curry Prawns recipe comes with many benefits, such as:

Each serve contains 15g of protein, thanks mostly to the prawns. Getting enough protein is important for keeping strong muscles, bones and immune system function.
One serve has a moderate amount of dietary fibre (4g), without rice. Fibre helps keep us fuller for longer and supports regular bowel movements. This includes prebiotic fibres, which support the growth and activity of beneficial microbes in our guts.
It is also low fat (and very low in saturated fat), which makes this Curry Prawns a good choice for our heart health!
This recipe uses low GI ingredients, and without rice has roughly 15g of carbs per serve. So this recipe is diabetes friendly.
The prawns contain a decent amount of omega 3 fatty acids. We know from research that regularly eating omega 3s may improve heart health. But also plays a role in eye health, and potentially even mental health.
Lastly, the veg combination offers a wide variety of nutrients. This includes vitamins A, C, K and B3. But also micronutrients such as potassium, magnesium, folate, and many more!

Curry Prawns Ingredients

Curry sauce

Curry powder – Adds a wonderful curry flavour to the sauce. I used Clive of India curry powder, as it is much lower in sodium than other brands of curry powder. You can find at both Coles and Woolworths.
Chinese five spice – Just enough to add depth and mild spicy element, without overpowering the curry gravy sauce.
White pepper – Is milder, and blends into the sauce better than black pepper.
Corn flour / starch– Helps to thicken the sauce.
Soy sauce – Preferably low / salt reduced. I used the Kikkoman’s salt reduced soy sauce which you can find at both Coles and Woolworths. I believe this is an all purpose soy sauce, but light soy should also work (see substitutions). Don’t use dark soy, as the colour and flavour are too strong.
Oyster sauce – Is another essential in Chinese cooking. I used Jade Pheonix oyster sauce, as it is lower in sodium than other brands.
Chinese cooking wine – Also known as Shaoxing wine.
Sesame oil – Adds a slightly nutty flavour, which adds depth to the sauce.
Chicken stock – Preferably low / salt reduced. Adds an extra salt element to the sauce.

Stir fry

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) – For cooking the prawns and vegetables.
Raw prawns / shrimp – I used the large, thawed green king prawns, which are available from Woolworths.
Garlic & ginger – Add extra flavour and are key ingredients in most stir fries. I used 4 very decent sized garlic cloves, and roughly 1 teaspoon of grated ginger (so roughly 1cm of ginger).
Onion – Another aromatic but also adds some extra veg!
Broccolini – Is ideal for stir fries, as it cooks relatively quickly, retains a crunchy texture and the tendrils trap the curry gravy sauce.
Carrot – Adds a sweet crunch and vibrant colour while holding up well to high heat.
Snow peas – Pair perfectly with prawns. This is a very common combination used at many Cantonese Chinese restaurants.

Shrimp or Prawns

Although prawns and shrimp are two different species, the names are used interchangeably. Here in Australia, we use the word prawn, whereas in the US, they tend to use shrimp. The name may vary depending on where you live.

For this recipe, you want 500g (1 lb) of whole, raw prawns that you have to peel yourself. Or, ~250g (8 oz) of peeled prawns. This should be 20 – 24 medium or large prawns. Here are the supermarket prawns I recommend using:

Banana prawns – Are the cheapest and hold their shape well when cooked. They’re not as flavourful as other prawns, so they’re ideal for saucy stir fries.
Tiger prawns – Have a good meaty flavour but are also suited to frying.
King prawns – King refers to species, not size. These prawns are my last choice as they are the most expensive.

If buying frozen prawns, buy ones with the shells on rather than peeled prawns. The shells protect the meat when from freezer burn. If you’re unfamiliar with prawns, they have a green – greyish colour when raw but turn red once cooked.

How to make Curry Prawns

Making the curry sauce

Add all the sauce ingredients except for the water and chicken stock to a bowl or jug. Stir until the cornflour has dissolved. Then stir in the chicken stock and water.

Set the sauce aside.

Making the stir fry

Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium – high heat.
Add the prawns to the skillet, spread them into a single layer and cook for 1 minute. Turn the prawns over and cooking for another minute or until cooked through. Remove the prawns and add them to a bowl.
If your skillet is dry, add a splash more extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes or until it starts to soften. Then add the garlic and ginger, and cook for another minute or until they become fragrant.

Steps 2 - 3 of making Chinese curry prawns.

Add the broccolini and carrot, stir until coated, and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the snow peas, stir through and cook for another minute.
Give the sauce a quick stir, then pour it into the skillet. Cook (~1 minute), while stirring until the sauce thickens and coats the vegetables.
Tip the prawns back into the skillet. Stir for 30 seconds, or until the prawns are warm. Remove from the heat.

Steps 4 - 6 of making Chinese curry prawns.

Serve your Curry Prawns stir fry while hot. Garnish with sesame seeds (optional).

Serve with

In authentic Chinese cooking, rice is a staple food. This Curry Prawns stir fry is perfect for serving with rice, as the grains can soak up that delicious curry gravy sauce.

So a special fried rice, or if you want something spicy, my Kimchi Fried Rice are the perfect side dishes for this recipe!

Storage

Once made, the Curry Prawns will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 – 3 days, if it even lasts that long!

However, I don’t recommend freezing it, as this will likely turn the prawns and veggies mushy.

How to reheat your Curry Prawns stir fry

I do not recommend microwaving the prawns, as they will likely turn rubbery. Your best option is to add the Curry Prawns to a skillet and heat over low heat until warm.

However, if you do choose this route – heat the vegetables and rice in a microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes or until hot. Then add the prawns and heat again for 30 seconds.

A spoon dripping sauce onto a bowl of Chinese curry prawns.

Substitutes & variations

Prawns / shrimp – Can easily be substituted for just about any other lean protein source. I think chicken, beef, or even tofu would work with this curry sauce.
Low / reduced salt soy sauce – Substitute for 1.5 teaspoons of regular soy sauce.
Vegetables – Just about any Asian style stir fry vegetables will work. My suggestions include broccoli, cabbage, pak choy, baby corn, etc. If swapping the broccolini for broccoli, don’t chuck out the stem! You can cut the stem into cubes and add them to the skillet with the carrots.
Spicy – Add some chili powder or crushed chili when making the curry sauce. Sambal Olek will also work, but it is much higher in salt / sodium.
Chinese cooking wine – Can be substituted for dry sherry or extra chicken stock.

Other dietary

Gluten free – Check your soy and oyster sauce, and if necessary, switch to gluten free varieties.
No onion / garlic – Simply leave the onion and garlic out while cooking. Substitute the extra virgin olive oil for a garlic infused variety to get more flavour.
Vegetarian– Swap the prawns / shrimp out for cubes of firm tofu or other plant-based alternatives. And use vegetarian oyster sauce and chicken stock.

Chopsticks and a bowl of Chinese curry prawns.

Tips

IMPORTANT: This recipe will not work with Hoyts or Keens curry powder, as it contains a lot more sodium! Using Hoyts or Keen’s will make the Curry Prawns way too salty.

A lot of curry powders available contain turmeric, which has mega staining power. So I advise not to use white tea towels and wipe any spills on light countertops as quickly as possible!