This Asian Shrimp Bowl is bursting with flavors! A delicious shrimp dinner with nutty, chewy barley and vegetables. A great way to meal prep for easy meals during the week!
Why We Love These Asian Shrimp Bowls
When we’re looking to meal prep some tasty food for busy nights, we often turn to recipes like this Asian Shrimp Bowl.
Barley is a new food to me, even though it’s not to a lot of people. Christie made it one night and threw in some vegetables and shredded chicken on top and the kids went crazy for it. So I kind of figure…if the kids are eating it, I should try it too?
And I did. And it was so good, I went back for more. Now this shrimp bowl has become a staple in our house! We switch up the ingredients to what we have, or make it just like this.
How To Make Asian Shrimp Bowls
In a large pot heat up some olive oil then add in a cup of chopped onion.
Cook for five minutes, stirring, and then add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. The sugar helps to caramelize the onions and get them sweeter. Another one of my favorite things…caramelized onions…
After the onions caramelize add in 2 cups of diced zucchini and cook that down for another 5 minutes. Throw in 2 minced garlic cloves and a little salt and pepper, then remove your cooked vegetables to a plate.
To the same pot pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the barley and a little more salt and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
After the barley is cooked, add back in the cooked vegetables soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. A this point, you could let it cool and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook your dinner later…
When dinner time comes, get your barley out of the fridge and warm it up over low heat. Get out a large skillet for your shrimp…season them with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until they’re just pink.
And dinner is done.
It might sound like a lot of steps – but it’s really not too bad – especially if you do the barley ahead of time. And do try and make the barley ahead of time, it’s a huge time save and you can enjoy it with many different recipes!
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Asian Shrimp Bowl
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis Asian Shrimp Bowl is bursting with flavors! A delicious shrimp dinner with nutty, chewy barley and vegetables. A great way to meal prep for easy meals during the week!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 1 cup barley, rinsed
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 pound small, peeled and deveined shrimp
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the sugar to the onions and stir. Cook the onions, stirring often for another 5 minutes until they start to brown and caramelize.
- Add the zucchini, garlic, salt and pepper to the onions and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes until the zucchini softens. Remove the vegetables to a plate and let cool.
- To the same pot, pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the barley and another 1/4 teaspoon of salt and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
- Place the cooked vegetables along with the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil back into the pot and stir to combine with the barley.
- In a large skillet, heat the other tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add in the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn to the other side and cook for 2 more minutes until pink.
- Spoon the barley into large bowls and add the shrimp on top to serve, garnish with sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes
Make the barley ahead of time, then when it’s time for dinner all you have to do is cook your shrimp and add it to the warmed up barley.
You could also leave out the shrimp for a vegetarian meal, or substitute chicken or sliced beef instead.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Super yummy! I will definitely make it again and add more veggies.
How many servings does this make?
Serves 4 – Thanks for asking!
Had some leftover cooked pearl barley and decided to make this recipe. I wanted more crunch, so I added some diced water chestnuts and snap peas. Also added some Asian hot sauce. Very tasty and feels like a healthier dish than one with white rice or noodles.
That sounds delicious!