Guys. This healthy dupe of the honey walnut shrimp at Panda Express is so so good! I haven’t eaten meat in about a decade, so when I would go to Panda (prior to studying nutrition and realizing I shouldn’t eat at Panda quite so often), I would always get the honey walnut shrimp and some chow mein. And let me tell you, that honey walnut shrimp is good. But, this homemade version tastes SO similar and is SO much healthier. This one can be considered paleo, it’s gluten-free, it’s dairy-free, and it is delicious.
I also discovered the easiest way to quickly batter shrimp: a large Ziploc bag! Just throw the shrimp in the bag with the tapioca flour, salt, and garlic powder and shake shake shake until they are all coated! No messy hands here. Combined with some oven-roasted and candied walnuts, a sweet, dairy-free sauce to pour over it, and rice to soak it all up, this dish is a winner-winner-honey-walnut-shrimp dinner!
The sauce here is a make-or-break for this meal. It’s a super easy combination of a little bit of full-fat coconut milk, Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayo , and local honey! Sounds a little odd, but it is so good over the shrimp and rice. Then we are going to “fry” the tapioca-coated shrimp in coconut oil, which is much healthier than Panda’s tempura battered and deep-fried shrimp. I also paired this dish with a shaved cabbage, carrot, and bell pepper salad with a sesame oil and soy sauce dressing. So light and refreshing – the perfect complement to the rich and creamy shrimp.
Let’s talk honey…
Honey is sugar. Duh. But there are a couple benefits that make it a little bit healthier than other forms of sugar, especially if you are buying local, raw honey. Raw would mean that it is unfiltered and unpasteurized, thus keeping in all the good stuff.
- Raw honey is full of antioxidants, which help your body fight free radicals and keep your immune system healthy.
- Honey local to your area can even help with allergies! The honey will have some of the bee pollen still intact, which can desensitize your immune system to the pollen in the air, since it’s already encountered it before in the honey you ate.
- Raw honey is also a good, quick energy source, as it will preferentially fill up your liver glycogen, which can then be used as a fuel source for your brain.
- Lastly, honey is a natural antimicrobial and may even have wound-healing properties! Honey is one of the only foods that never, ever spoils, likely due to its inherent bacteria-fighting properties. One article (linked below) mentions that the first written account of honey was found in 2100-2000 BC on a Sumerian tablet, stating how honey was used as a drug and ointment. How cool is that!
However, honey still is sugar, so being mindful of the amount you are using is important to keep your sugar intake at a low to moderate level. One tablespoon of honey has 17 g of sugar! So just have a little bit of honey, honey.
Make more meals with shrimp here, here, and here! (Wow, seems I enjoy shrimp quite a bit). 🙂
Read more about honey:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/
https://draxe.com/the-many-health-benefits-of-raw-honey/
Healthy Honey Walnut Shrimp with Rainbow Slaw Salad
Ingredients
- 1/8 cup raw sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 1/4 cup avocado oil mayonnaise Primal Kitchen
- 2 Tbsp full-fat coconut milk canned
- 2 Tbsp honey raw, local if possible
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 12 shrimp deveined, peeled, thawed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup rice organic brown or white, cooked
- 2 carrots shaved
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper mandolined
- 1/4 of a large head of cabbage mandolined
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp coconut aminos sub soy sauce for non-GF
- 1/2 of a lime juiced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Once at a boil, turn off heat and add walnuts. Coat walnuts with the syrup.
- Spread walnuts on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet without touching each other; bake for 8-10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk the mayo, coconut milk, and honey. Set aside.
- In a large Ziploc bag, add the tapioca flour, shrimp, salt, and garlic powder.
- Shake to coat the shrimp evenly and well.
- In a large pan, heat up the coconut oil and add the battered shrimp, in bathes if needed.
- Cook the shrimp 3-4 minutes per side. Check for golden brown crispiness before flipping.
- Serve over cooked rice and generously add the creamy honey sauce.
- For the rainbow slaw salad: Grate carrots with a vegetable peeler and mandolin the bell pepper and the cabbage into thin strips. Mix with sesame oil, coconut aminos/soy sauce, and lime juice. Mix well.
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