This Shrimp Wonton Stir Fry is an Applebee's copycat tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce, served over rice and topped with wonton strips.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Canola oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or olive oil.
- Shrimp – if you’re not a fan of seafood, you can make this recipe with chopped chicken (just add 5 minutes onto the cooking time).
- Shredded carrot – swap out for another veggie of your choice like zucchini, snap peas, baby corn or water chestnuts.
- Celery stalks – or another veggie of your choice.
- Mushrooms – or another veggie of your choice.
- Broccoli – or another veggie of your choice.
- Red pepper – or another veggie of your choice.
- Green onions – leave these out altogether if you don’t have any on hand.
- Wonton strips – make your own gluten-free version by slicing gluten-free wonton wrappers into thin strips and frying in oil until golden-brown.
- White rice – use another kind of grain of your choice like brown rice or even quinoa.
- Butter – this is optional to make the rice moist. Olive oil or your favourite dairy-free butter substitute would also work.
- Salt – to taste.
Sauce
- Hoisin sauce – use a bit of bean paste or garlic teriyaki instead.
- Sweet chili sauce – mix together hot sauce and honey to make your own sweet chili sauce.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Sriracha – use red pepper flakes instead or leave this out altogether to make the dish less spicy.
How to make this recipe
- Make the stir fry sauce.
- Prep your ingredients.
- Cook the shrimp.
- Sauté the veggies.
- Add in the shrimp and sauce.
- Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and wonton strips.
Making the rice
There are two options for making the rice that goes along with this shrimp stir fry dish.
- Rice cooker: This is the easiest option. You will add the rice and water, then set it to cook. Using this method allows you to focus on making the stir fry without having to multitask at the same time.
- Stovetop: This method is best when you want to have more control over the texture of the rice. Follow the instructions on the package of rice, then fluff with a fork when it’s done to make sure it’s just how you like it.
To reduce the number of carbs in this dish, you could replace the white rice with cauliflower rice instead. Buy your favourite variety from the store, or use my homemade cauliflower rice recipe but don't use the spice blends.
Frequently Asked Questions
The calories in Applebee’s version of this dish range from 610 to 680 per serving. In comparison, one serving of my recipe comes in at just 477 calories and only two-thirds of the carbohydrates. Obviously, the total calories will change depending on any substitutions, but it’s still much healthier to make this dish at home!
Shrimp cooks quickly, so keep an eye on it so it doesn’t come out tough and rubbery. The easiest way to tell when shrimp is done is when the exterior is pink and white instead of gray, the shrimp changes from translucent to opaque and the tails curl into a “c” shape.
You can normally find wonton strips in the international food aisle of your grocery store or by the sushi section. It’s also pretty easy to make your own wonton strips – just slice up wonton wrappers into strips, fry them in oil until golden-brown and then dry them out on paper towel.
Storing and reheating
This stir fry will last in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and the rice will last for up to a week. Store the stir fry and rice separately in airtight glass containers or divide individual servings amongst meal prep containers for a quick and easy lunch idea.
When you’re ready to eat, heat everything up in a pan on the stovetop or in the microwave in short bursts to avoid overcooking the shrimp. I suggest sprinkling some water over top of the rice before reheating to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
Freezing this recipe
It’s best to freeze just the shrimp mixture and make the rice fresh before serving. Once the shrimp and veggies have cooled, transfer them to an airtight glass container or freezer-safe Ziploc bag with the sauc and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating, and use within 2 to 3 days for the best flavour. You may need to add a small amount of liquid when reheating the stir fry or you can just make another batch of fresh sauce to mix in.
More Applebee's copycat recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing the leftovers of this recipe.
- Order some bento box containers to separate the stir fry and rice.
Applebee's Shrimp Wonton Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup broccoli, chopped into small florets
- 1/2 red pepper, sliced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup wonton strips
Sauce
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sriracha
Rice
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Make the rice in by adding all ingredients to a rice cooker. Mix together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
- Chop and prepare vegetables, then heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp, seasoning with salt & pepper, cooking for 1-2 minutes and stirring often until mostly cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Without wiping pan clean, add all vegetables except for green onions, sauteeing for about 5 minutes until tender-crisp.
- Add shrimp back to pan along with stir fry sauce, cooking for another 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens.
- Serve shrimp stir fry over rice, garnishing with green onions and wonton strips. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Comments & Reviews
Ashley says
So so so so good. One of my favorites.
Jessica says
This is IDENTICAL at I the Applebee’s recipe. Wow! 100000/10 🤩