Tempura shrimp and honeydew lightly glazed with creamy honey sauce, sprinkled with candied pecans, and served with rice.
Honey Pecan Shrimp with Honeydew
You will notice I changed the name from the traditional to Honey Pecan Shrimp. Since I can’t eat walnuts, pecans are the next best thing for me. I think they taste better, in fact! You can choose which nut works best for your version of my recipe!
Tempura shrimp has been one of my favorite Asian foods and when I have the opportunity to order it at a restaurant, I don’t miss it. I have tried several times to make tempura at home…unsuccessfully, so off the menu is the only way for me to get lightly battered, crispy tempura. Until now!
I mistakenly found a recipe for battered shrimp and decided to experiment with it for this recipe of Honey Pecan Shrimp. It uses a Japanese glutinous rice flour and egg. It reminds me of pancake batter, but when it fries in oil, it’s light and crispy and exactly like tempura. I was so excited!! I am sharing this find with you!
This recipe of Honey Pecan Shrimp adds honeydew, a specialty in the PF Chang’s Honey Walnut Shrimp, and it pairs beautifully with the creamy honey sauce. The pecans are lightly sweetened and blend in with the overall mixture of flavors.
Ingredients in the Honey Pecan Shrimp with Honeydew
- Raw shrimp: I tried the recipe with already cooked shrimp (pink shrimp) and the texture was tough because it easily over cooked. Definitely purchase raw shrimp (gray shrimp). Before you dip it in the breading, remove the shell and the tail, rinse it and dry it.
- Mochiko (glutinous rice flour): This ingredient is often called sweet rice flour in the gluten-free flour section. Mochiko is found in the Asian food section of the grocery store.
- Egg whites: Only using egg whites, and leaving out the yolks, helps the tempura breading texture be light and crispy.
- Canola oil or Coconut oil: Either of these choices work well. The slight coconut flavor would add to the flavor and be a little more healthy.
- Honeydew melon: A nice ripe, and still firm, melon would create balls successfully. Cut the melon in half, scoop out the seeds, and then use a small cookie scoop to create balls of melon for this recipe.
- Finely shredded coconut: The smaller the pieces, the better. This is just an extra garnish that looks and tastes great. Unsweetened would be my preference.
- Coconut milk: A healthy, more Asian way to make the sauce creamy. Plus it’s a little thicker than milk.
- Sweetened condensed milk: This ingredient gives the creamy honey sauce it’s distinct flavor.
- Mayonnaise: A thickening agent for the sauce
- Rice vinegar: Specifically rice vinegar, as compared to other flavors of vinegar, tastes Asian.
- Dash of spices: This sauce just needs a “dash” of several spices. Too much of any one of them overpowers the lightly sweet flavor of the sauce. A “dash” is considered an eighth of a teaspoon and a “pinch” is considered a sixteenth of a teaspoon.
- Red pepper flakes: An optional ingredient, but I really enjoy the touch of spice that is not normally found in traditional versions of Honey Pecan Shrimp.
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How to Make Honey Pecan Shrimp with Honeydew
- Cook rice according to directions on packaging. I prefer to cook rice in Instant Pot, rice setting (12 minutes), with 1:1 ratio of rice to water. Keep warm until serving.
- Prepare the following before frying the shrimp:
- Clean (de-shell/de-tail) and dry shrimp.
- Candy the pecans by stir-frying in butter and brown sugar until coated and let cool on parchment paper.
- Create balls of honeydew melon with a small cookie scoop. Set aside.
- Combine all creamy honey sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Set on stove, but wait to warm until shrimp is cooked.
- Mix egg whites and mochiko in a shallow bowl. Add water until a pancake batter consistency.
- Add 2-3 inches of oil to pan on stove. Heat oil to approximately 325-350° F. Test heat with a few drops of rice flour mixture. If it bubbles, rises to the top, and begins to fry, it’s ready.
- Dip shrimp in rice flour mixture and drop in hot oil. Fry on one side until lightly browned. Turn shrimp and fry on other side until lightly browned and shrimp is pink on both sides. Remove from oil and place on paper towels. It takes approximately 1 minute per side.
- Heat creamy honey sauce on stove, stirring occasionally, just until heated through and starting to boil. The sauce thickens the longer it is heated and is best served warm. If thinning is needed, add just a tablespoon or two of water.
- Serve shrimp with candied pecans, honeydew melon balls and rice, smothered with creamy honey sauce and sprinkled with shredded coconut.
Enjoy this favorite Asian meal with some steamed vegetables—or tempura fried onions, peppers, and sweet potatoes.
–Kim
Honey Pecan Shrimp with Honeydew
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked sushi rice
- 1-2 pounds raw shrimp
- 2/3 cup mochiko glutinous rice flour
- 4 egg whites
- canola oil or coconut oil
- 1 honeydew melon balled
- finely shredded coconut for garnish
Lightly Candied Pecans
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup pecans
Creamy Honey Sauce
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 dash celery salt (see note)
- 1 dash garlic powder (see note)
- 1 dash plus a pinch powdered ginger (see note)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Cook rice according to directions on packaging. I prefer to cook rice in Instant Pot, rice setting (12 minutes), with 1:1 ratio of rice to water.
- Clean (de-shell/de-tail) and dry shrimp.
- In pan on stove, candy pecans by stir frying all ingredients for 1-2 minutes, until pecans are coated. Let cool on parchment paper.
- Create balls of honeydew melon with a small cookie scoop. Set aside.
- Combine all creamy honey sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Set on stove, but wait to warm until shrimp is cooked.
- Mix egg whites and mochiko in a shallow bowl. Add water until a pancake batter consistency.
- Add 2-3 inches of oil to pan on stove. Heat oil to approximately 325-350° F. Test heat with a few drops of rice flour mixture. If it bubbles and rises to the top, it’s ready.
- Dip shrimp in rice flour mixture and drop in hot oil. Fry on one side until lightly browned. Turn shrimp and fry on other side until lightly browned and shrimp is pink on both sides. Remove from oil and place on paper towels.
- Heat creamy honey sauce on stove, stirring occasionally, just until heated through. The sauce thickens the longer it is heated and is best served warm. If thinning is needed, add just a bit of water.
- Serve shrimp with candied pecans, honeydew and rice, smothered with creamy honey sauce and sprinkled with shredded coconut.
Notes
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