Cook the rice. Start your rice first since everything else moves fast once the skillet is hot. Set it aside, covered, to stay warm.
Mix the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes if using. Keep the cornstarch slurry separate for now you’ll add it at the very end.
Sear the shrimp. Heat the oil in your skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Add the shrimp in a single layer (work in two batches if your pan is small crowding steams them instead of searing). Cook 1–2 minutes per side, until pink and just opaque. Pull them out onto a plate immediately, even if they look slightly underdone they’ll finish cooking when they go back in later, and this is the one step that makes or breaks the texture.
Caramelize the pineapple this is the part most recipes skip. In the same pan, no need to wipe it out, add the pineapple and bell pepper. Let them sit mostly undisturbed for 2–3 minutes so the sugars in the pineapple actually catch and brown against the hot pan, rather than just heating through. This is the move that turns a fruit garnish into something closer to a glaze base the caramelized edges add a depth you can’t get by tossing everything in raw at the same time as the shrimp.
Build the sauce. Add the whites of the green onions and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the glaze mixture and let it bubble for about a minute.
Thicken and finish. Give the cornstarch slurry a quick stir (it separates fast) and pour it in. Stir constantly for 30–60 seconds until the sauce goes glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss just until warmed through and coated this should take under a minute, since they’re already cooked.
Assemble. Divide the rice between bowls, top with the shrimp-pineapple mixture, and finish with the sliced green onion tops.
