Spicy Peanut Shrimp Noodles

Spicy Peanut Shrimp Noodles Four years ago, Linda and I took a cooking class in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. The sauce...

Spicy Peanut Shrimp Noodles

Four years ago, Linda and I took a cooking class in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. The sauce we made for the summer rolls was very simple: Magi Chili Sauce and an equal amount of creamy peanut butter. The chili sauce is similar to Sriracha sauce. The combination of sweet and spicy made a nice addition to our summer rolls.

Way before the cooking class, I learned to how to make sweet and sour sauce while on a snorkeling adventure (yeah, this was the trip with pirates!) in the South China Sea: Magi Chili Sauce again, and an equal amount of ketchup. Again the combination of sweet and hot maked a tasty sauce.

The star of my spicy peanut shrimp sauce is the combination of peanut butter and Sriracha with Shishito Peppers. My nephew Josh gave me a package of seeds two years ago, and I planted them in April.

The peppers thrived:

The Shishito is a sweet pepper, well... mostly, usually, but about 10% of them will knock your socks off. When I prepped the peppers I removed the seeds and hung them outside to dry for next year's crop, or to share with others.

Also in the garden I had fresh green onion and cucumber. The red pepper was fresh from Trader Joe's, as was the ginger. Soon I will have ginger from the garden! It looks too healthy to dig out a root at this time. It is in the same pot as my basil.

Ginger (large leaves) growing in the same pot as basil

The vegetables from the garden look so fresh!

Ready for the main event

You can use almost any pasta with this recipe. In the past I used spaghetti. This time I used 12 ounces of rice noodles. The directions on the package said to soak in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain.

The next time I do this, I will let the noodle sit for another 10-20 minutes. They were ok, but they absorbed more liquid from the sauce than I preferred.

Here is a link to my one minute video of how to prepare this recipe. Enjoy!

Spicy Peanut Shrimp Noodles

Ingredients

12 oz dry noodles

1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips then cut into 2-inch pieces

A handful of Shishito Peppers

1 cup sliced carrots

3/4 cup chopped green onions

Optional: Pre-cooked shrimp

Garnishes: Sesame seeds, cucumber slices, chopped peanuts

Sauce Ingredients

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup warm water

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp Sriracha (more or less to taste)

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 1/2 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp sesame oil

Instructions

Cook pasta according to directions listed on package. 

Prepare sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a heavy pan, blending until smooth.

Add veggies.

Add pasta

Add shrimp

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.