Prawn Stir Fry Noodles are a quick, easy option any night of the week! Packed with healthy vegetables, chewy noodles and smothered in an aromatic sauce, this recipe will tick all of your boxes. Better than takeout this prawn and noodle stir fry will have you licking your lips and coming back for more!
My Soy Sauce Noodles, Chicken Noodle Stir Fry and Chicken Mince Stir Fry combine great flavours and textures.
Recipes like the Satay Prawns, Creamy Garlic Prawns, Garlic Prawn Spaghetti and the Coconut Prawns bring a catch to our table 😉👍.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
Yes, I am talking about shrimp! Prawns in Australia and New Zealand, are Shrimp in the USA, but they are the same thing. We are not throwing this shrimp on the barbie but into the wok or fry pan! There are many things to love about this prawn noodle recipe and the ones I have summarised below are the highlights:
- 30 minute dinner any night of the week: no need to spend hours making dinner, when you can whip this stir fry up and have it on the table, ready to eat with chopsticks in hand in less than 30 mins!
- Taste and texture: the prawns are succulent, juicy and tender. The noodles are positively chop stick worthy. The vegetables give us the crunch factor.
- Simple ingredients: you can get everything you need to make the recipe from your local supermarket. Plus you can use spaghetti noodles if you have them in the pantry already!
- High protein filling meal: this dish will fill you up and keep you satisfied!
- Option to switch it up: not a fan of prawns? Simply switch them out and in with chopped chicken thighs instead. The rest of the recipe can remain the same.
- Plenty of sauce: we combine a number of Asian flavours in the sauce which smothers the prawns, veggies and noodles. Lip smacking with every mouthful!
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you what you need to make the prawn stir fry noodles recipe. It is a handy guide to refer to when shopping. For exact measurements please refer to the printable recipe card below.
As you can see, the recipe calls for:
- Salt and pepper: these are to season the prawns and we add them to the hot oil and garlic.
- Garlic: you can use fresh cloves, finely chopped or minced garlic. Go easy on this ingredient if you are not a huge fan.
- Sriracha sauce: this is a hot chilli sauce which has a little kick to it. Omit if you don't want to use it. No need to replace with anything.
- Peanut oil: we use this both to cook in the recipe and as an ingredient in the sauce. It is light and clear in colour.
- Honey: sweet and sticky. This balances the salt in the recipe.
- Soy sauce: this is the most common type of soy sauce and the one found in little plastic fish containers when buying sushi.
- Dark soy sauce: this ingredient adds the dark colour to the stir fry. We add it sparingly as to not turn the whole stir fry into a brown colour, which is more typical of a lo mein dish.
- Oyster sauce: this is a thick salty sauce commonly found in Asian cooking. You can use the equivalent of hoisin sauce if you prefer.
- Chinese cooking wine: available from the Asian foods section of the supermarket.
- Sesame oil: this is a darker colour than peanut oil and has a strong nutty taste. We use this to add a depth of flavour in the sauce.
- Water: we use a small amount if this in the sauce to balance the saltiness. Tap water is fine!
- Vegetables: I am using freshly chopped vegetables (1 x red capsicum, 1 x green capsicum and 1 x yellow capsicum). You can use fresh or frozen. The frozen ones will take a little bit longer to cook and may result in excess water in the wok. Simply drain this before adding the cooked noodles.
- Prawns (shrimp): I make life easy and use store bought, peeled frozen prawns. This means you can have them in the freezer anytime you need to grab them out. They are best cooked thawed, so take them out of the freezer and place them in the fridge overnight so that you can drain and dry them before use. If you want to use King Prawns, you will need a lesser quantity as they are much larger than regular banana prawns. Or you can use fresh prawns that you peel and devein yourself.
- Noodles: there is a wide variety of noodles that you can use for this recipe. My favourite as they have great texture, length and are quick to cook are either dried Instant noodles or dried egg noodles. They only need hot water to cook and once cooked can be added to the recipe with ease. Whichever type you go for will have packet instructions on the best cooking method, so you can use that as a guide.
- Spring onions: we cut the roots and tips of these, then cut the remaining lengths into 4. The white bits take longer to cook than the tubular green parts so we cook them with the raw vegetables. The green bits get added at the very end as they only need to wilt. See my photos for the detail of this.
Top Tip: If it is a work night and the list of sauce ingredients scare you off, vary it to ⅓ cup honey, ¼ cup soy sauce and 2 tbs Chinese Cooking Wine. It will save you a little time and effort but still provide a delightful sauciness to the dish.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by combining the stir fry sauce ingredients as shown in the photos below. You will find that a glass jug and mini whisk will help you combine the sauce.
- Gather the sauce ingredients (Photo 1)
- Whisk to combine (Photo 2)
- Cut the spring onions (Photo 3)
- Heat oil, cook prawns, garlic, salt and pepper (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Prawn and Noodle Stir Fry
Use a glass jug or jar to combine the sauce ingredients and a mini whisk or fork to ensure consistency.
Once done, set aside the sauce as you prepare the rest of the dish.
We want to discard the root bits and very tips of the spring onions.
Then we want to cut what is left into 4 lengths. Half of these will be the white onion part (takes longer to cook) and half the green tubular part (cooks very quickly).
As a result, we can add the white onion parts when we cook the rest of the vegetables, but hold off cooking the green tubular part till last as it only needs to wilt.
- Cook the prawns till they are orange with no clear meat (Photo 5)
- Add the raw vegetables (Photo 6)
- They will take 2 - 3 mins to cook (Photo 7)
- Cook then drain the noodles and add to the vegetables (Photo 8)
Once the prawns are cooked, we want to remove them from the pan and set aside.
This is so that they don't overcook as we come to cook the rest of the ingredients.
Whilst the vegetables are cooking, you can cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Some will need boiling on the stove and some simply soaked in hot water. Drain them and discard the water when they are ready. Place them on top of the cooked vegetables like the photos shown.
- Add cooked prawns back to pan (Photo 9)
- Pour sauce over stir fry (Photo 10)
- Add green onion green bits (Photo 11)
- Combine till everything is heated through (Photo 12)
Once the prawns go back into the pan, we pour the sauce over, add the green tubular parts of the green onions and stir.
Chop sticks are really handy at this point as they help you to get the vegetables and prawns in amongst the noodles.
It will take 2-3 mins for this to all be heated through.
When the cooking is done, if you are not ready to eat straight away, pop a lid over the dish and turn the heat off. It can sit like that on the stove for a little bit before you call out 'dinner is ready' and everyone comes to the kitchen. Reheat as needed prior to serving.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
This prawn noodle stir fry recipe is an all in one dish! The recipe will serve 4 to 6 people depending on your portion sizes!
There is no need to serve with salad or vegetables as the dish is packed with the good stuff.
You can, however, opt to serve a starter prior to the main meal.
An option to consider that pairs well is the Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
As always, there are a couple of things that you might want to do to switch ingredients in, out or modify for this recipe. Some popular choices are:
- Vary the vegetables that you add. For example use carrot and zucchini, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms or baby corn spears.
- Use thick noodles or thin and vice versa. You don't have to use the exact same noodles as me. Ramen noodles, rice noodles, udon noodles, soba noodles, hokkien noodles or egg noodles will work also.
- Short on time? Vary the sauce to the following combination: ⅓ cup honey, ¼ cup soy sauce and 2 tbs Chinese Cooking Wine.
- Don't like prawns? Use chopped salmon, chicken or pork mince instead.
- Love seafood? Combine chopped salmon with the prawns for a high protein feast.
- Want thicker sauce? Add 2 tbs cornflour to the sauce (before adding the honey), whisk to combine.
💡 Tasty Tips
These are my top tips and tricks for you to get the recipe right from the very 1st go:
- Have everything prepped and ready to go.
- Use a high heat.
- Keep things moving - use a kitchen utensil to ensure nothing sits in the pan for too long without movement.
- The vegetables will cook faster than you think, keep an eye on them so they don't over cook.
- Ensure the noodles have separated when you cook them as it will be much harder to do this when you have added them to the rest of the dish.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Once cooked, allow the stir fry to cool, then transfer to an airtight container. It will last for 2 to 3 days in the fridge and need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
You can freeze leftovers if needed, one thing to keep in mind is that as you may have cook with frozen thawed prawns, you will then be freezing them again which may lead to mixed results.
How to Reheat
You can reheat leftovers in the microwave for 2- 3 mins. Or on the stove in the wok.
If using the wok, you will need to add a little oil again to ensure that the noodles don't stick.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put cooked prawns in a stir fry?
Yes, you can use cooked prawns in a stir fry.
They will, however, need much less time to cook than fresh or frozen raw prawns. So think of them more as a reheat ingredient than a raw ingredient.
Can you cook frozen prawns in a stir fry?
My recommendation is to use frozen thawed prawns.
Cooking prawns from frozen can lead to mixed results.
You will get better results if you thaw, drain and dry the frozen prawns prior to adding them to the pan.
How do I thicken stir fry sauce?
Cornflour is the best way to thicken a stir fry sauce. It has a neural taste so won't alter the flavours of the stir fry sauce.
Add it at the time of combining the sauce ingredients and ensure it is whisked in consistently as to avoid any lumps.
What goes well with prawn noodles?
Prawn Noodles need a salty sweet sauce and lots of vegetables.
As per personal preference you can add chilli, granulated nuts, sesame seeds and or finely diced herbs for garnish.
😍 More Easy Noodle Recipes
Be it a satisfying meal that doesn't take hours to prepare, a quick noodle fix or something reminiscent of homemade take out, you might like to try the following:
- Shrimp Yakisoba
- Salmon Noodle Stir Fry
- Pork Mince Noodles
- Beef Yakisoba
- Beef Yaki Udon
- Chicken Yaki Udon
- Shrimp Yaki Udon
- Beef Udon Noodles
- Garlic Spaghetti
- Garlic Bacon Pasta
Or you can browse them all in my homemade takeout recipes collection. It is time to get our prawn on my friends, let me hear it sizzle!
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Prawn Stir Fry Noodles
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Based Flat Fry Pan or stove top wok/electric wok.
- 1 Silicon flexible turner
- 1 Kitchen Tongs
- 1 Medium Heatproof Bowl
- 1 Pair Chop sticks
Ingredients
- 2 tbs peanut oil Note 1
- 2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 850 grams frozen peeled prawns shell peeled, tail on, Note 2
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh vegetables Note 3
- 10 spring onions ends and tips trimmed, lengths cut into 4, also Note 3
- 400 grams noodles Note 4
Prawn Stir Fry Noodle Sauce
- 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce Note 5
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine Note 6
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce optional
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Make Sauce: In a small jug, combine stir fry sauce ingredients and use a mini whisk to stir till consistently mixed. Set aside.
- Cook prawns: Heat 2 tbs peanut oil in a large fry pan over a medium heat, add chopped garlic, prawns, salt and pepper, cook till prawns are bright orange. Spoon cooked prawns into bowl and set aside.
- Cook Vegetables: Add chopped vegetables, including white green onion bits and stir fry for 2 -3 mins.
- Cook Noodles: cook noodles according to packet instructions. Drain, discard water and set aside.
- Combine: Add cooked noodles to stir fried vegetables, place cooked prawns on top. Pour sauce over mixture.
- Add remaining vegetables: Place the left over green tubular part of the onions on top of the prawns, stir to combine.
- Serve: once the dish is heated through portion, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Note 1 - Oil: If you don't have or want to get peanut oil, you can use olive oil as a susbtitute. It is not as common in Asian style cooking and will have a different flavour, but will get the job done. You will see the reference to peanut oil twice, this is because we use it both in the stir fry sauce as well as in the pan to cook the recipe.
- Note 2 - Prawns: you can use fresh or frozen prawns. If using fresh, you will need to peel and devein yourself, leave the tails on. If using frozen, you will be able to find varieties sold like this in the freezer section. Remove them and place in the fridge overnight prior to cooking. Also ensure any excess water is drained and discarded.
- Note 3 - Vegetables: I am using 1 x red capsicum, 1 x green capsicum and 1 x yellow capsicum, seeds discarded and cut into long, thin strips. I am using using 10 spring onions, roots and tips discarded and remaining section cut into 4 lengths. We seperate the white onion part from the green onion part as they take different cook times. The white onion part goes in at the raw vegetable stage and the tubular green part at the very end as they cook quickly and only need a little heat to wilt.
- Note 4 - Noodles: I like to use dried egg noodles for this recipe. It means you can always have them on hand, they are budget friendly and super quick to cook! You can also use Instant noodles, Thick egg noodles or Hokkien noodles. Use your preference and cook them according to the instructions listed on the packet.
- Note 5 - Dark Soy Sauce: a little of this goes a long way! We use it mainly to give the dish a richer darker colour. Be cautious about using more than the specific amount for this dish as you will loose the colourful aspect and have a brown coloured stir fry.
- Note 5 - Chinese Cooking Wine: this is sold in the Asian foods section of the supermarket. It will be in a tall bottle. It has a long shelf life and can be kept in the pantry.
Cara Newman says
Delicious. Loved it. We used udon noodles.