I love the Asian flavors of this Shrimp Vermicelli dish. It completely satisfies any Asian food craving, but I feel so much better after eating this than the take-out version. Don’t get me wrong – I love the take-out version, and sometimes there’s just no substitute. However, this has way less sodium in it than a take out version does. And, I’ve jam packed this with antioxidants to keep you going strong!
Noodle dishes are some of my favorite types of meals. It’s so satisfying to slurp up noodles with a mouthwatering sauce, and I love the mix of textures between the noodles, protein, and various vegetables. Whenever there’s a bowl of pasta or pad thai in front of me, it’s gone in minutes. I can’t help it!
Coming Up with Shrimp Vermicelli
I wanted to have some Asian flavors on the menu for the restaurant I was working at a few years ago and I came across a base recipe that was the inspiration for this. The base recipe was a lot more time-intensive (making it hard to do on the line for heavy service times) than this one and it required a lot of specialty ingredients. You know I’m all about practicality here on the blog, so this recipe is the renegade version.
Healthy(-ier) Alternatives
The challenge is, I also want to be healthy, I also want to feel great an hour after eating it and not be in a food coma. So what to do? I created this recipe so I can have my noodles and eat them too.
Vermicelli noodles are rice noodles – you can find them in the Asian foods aisle in nearly any grocery store. They’re gluten-free and are pretty light in the grand scheme of the noodle world. They also take on flavors wonderfully.
Enter – sauce. The sauce of this dish is the star. The noodles act as a stage to showcase the sauce, and the carrots highlight the yellow turmeric color.
Finally, this pasta dish is served with a type of “dipping sauce” I like to tell guests to try it and then decide how much they would like to add – most often guests ask for more! When I cook for myself, I pour a bit over my pasta when I sit down to eat it.
Wine Pairings with Shrimp Vermicelli
Wine can seem to be a difficult pairing with this dish because of the tangy sweetness. The shrimp add a mineral sweet element, the turmeric can add a savory and bitter note, and the soy sauce adds the umami and salt. All that to say that I prefer a Viognier wine (Condrieu if you can swing it, or some really nice ones are coming out of Washington these days). I would also suggest a Chenin Blanc from South Africa, preferably the Swartland area where some of the oldest Chenin Blanc vines in the world come from.
PrintTurmeric Garlic Shrimp Vermicelli Noodles
An awesome Asian dish I worked on while at a restaurant in Minneapolis. Full of antioxidants and it’s Gluten Free!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 8
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Seafood
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
1/2 # Shrimp, peeled and deveined, cut into small, bite-sized chunks (about 1/2” cube-like pieces)
3 Tbsp Avocado or Coconut Oil
1 Shallot, minced
1 Spring Onion, thinly sliced on a bias
2 Tbsp Ginger, peeled, grated or minced
1 Tbsp Turmeric, dried and ground
3 Garlic Cloves, minced – reserve 2 tsp for dipping sauce.
1/4 Cup Carrots, shredded or sliced
1 # Vermicelli Rice Noodles
1 tsp Fish Sauce (+more if needed at the end)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Honey
2 Tbsp Chives, thinly sliced, to garnish (optional)
Dipping Sauce:
2 Tbsp Lime juice
1 tsp Honey
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp red chili flakes
2 tsp garlic, minced
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove.
- Make dipping sauce, reserve
- Heat oil in a saute pan and add shallots, onions, ginger, turmeric, garlic, and carrots.
- Saute on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, then add in raw shrimp. Cook all the way through. Remove from heat and set aside until noodles are ready.
- Cook noodles in boiling water, reserving 1/4 cup liquid, strain and toss into saute pan with shrimp.
- Add in the fish sauce, sesame oil, and honey and cook until heated through. Add salt to taste. If you need more liquid in the pan, add reserved pasta water 1 Tbsp at a time. Alternatively, you can add some of the dipping sauce. note – you don’t want this isn’t supposed to be a really saucy noodle dish, the sauce should be thick enough to cling to the noodles, but thin enough to cover them completely.
- Plate, garnish with chives, and serve with remaining dipping sauce.
Notes
Fish Sauce can be whatever you find in your store. The affiliate link that I added here is one of my favorite brands though, if you do a lot Asian cooking it’s definitely worth it.
Keywords: Pasta, Gluten Free, Turmeric, Garlic, Ginger, Shrimp, Seafood
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