Here’s one of my favorite “ethnic-style” dishes in the weekday gourmet category: Spicy Thai Shrimp and Noodles.  It’s an easy way to spice up the middle of the workweek with a dish that’s easy to prepare, takes only minutes to cook and is packed with flavor.  I call it “Thai” because of the inclusion of a respectable amount of spicy Thai chili sauce, but I don’t expect you to believe the dish is actually Thai in pedigree (no more than the addition of Cayenne pepper makes a dish Cajun).

Although I sometimes make this dish with chicken, my favorite is with shrimp.  And since they were on sale yesterday at the local supermarket, I picked up about six ounces of shrimp for my dinner for less than three bucks.   With the addition of just a few more ingredients, the whole dish took me ten minutes to prep, ten minutes to cook and only cost around $3.50 for one serving.

To complement the spicy chili sauce, I paired the dish with a German Riesling, 2006 Petals.  The wine was a bit sweet for me to enjoy by itself, but putting it with the food was a match made in heaven.  Spicy pink shrimp, Thai chili sauce and a nice sweet wine sure did make for an enjoyable weekday evening.  Try it yourself!

Courtesy of Kevin Lacassin
www.NolaFoodie.com

Serves 2, Wine Pairing: Riesling

INGREDIENTS

• ½ lb. SHRIMP, peeled and de-veined
• 2 packages Ramen NOODLES
• 3 green ONIONS, chopped
• 2 SHALLOTS, minced
• 2 tablespoons Sambal CHILI PASTE (can use Sriracha)
• 2-3 tablespoons BUTTER
• dash of SOY SAUCE
• 2 tablespoons olive OIL
• dash of HOISIN SAUCE
• dash black PEPPER

METHOD

1.    Peel and de-vein shrimp, season with black pepper, soy sauce and Hoisin sauce.  Fill a two-quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil (to cook the noodles).

2.    Coat a large (12”) non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil and sweat the shallots and half of the green onions for five minutes, until soft.  Add shrimp and cook on a medium heat for several minutes, until shrimp turn pink.

3.    Add two tablespoons of butter and the green onions to the skillet.  Cook for a minute or two until all of the butter is melted.  Add two tablespoons of Sambal chili sauce and stir thoroughly.  Continue to cook the sauce on low heat for several minutes.

4.    While the sauce is cooking, open two packages of Ramen noodles and discard the seasoning packet.  Cook according to instructions on the package (generally 3 minutes).

5.    Drain the noodles and add to the skillet; toss all ingredients together and serve in a bowl or small plate with chopsticks.  Garnish with green onion.

NOTES

• You will have to eyeball each of the liquid ingredients.
• The Sambal chili sauce is spicy! If the end result is too spicy, you can cut the heat with extra butter.

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