Sweet & Spicy Shrimp with Rice Noodles

I am toast today.   Not "ate".   AM.

The Morning Edition schedule 

+ 

lots of important stories to cover 

+ 

kids home at all kinds of odd hours of the day 

+ 

everything else summer throws at me 

= 

complete and utter exhaustion...

and frustration...

and...

Well, suffice to say that I really needed to find some zen tonight. And what better way than grabbing a great big knife and chopping the stew out of some shstuff!

This recipe comes from Adam Hickman at Cooking Light (Aug 2012). You can click here for the nutritional info.


Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste, such as Huy Fong -- we made ours from scratch using this easy recipe from the Asian Grandmothers Cookbook.)
• 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
• 12 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 4 ounces uncooked flat rice noodles (pad thai noodles)
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted cashews (bought small amount out of bulk bin at grocery)
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
• 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger (we used refrigerated paste, since we already had it)
• 1 green Thai chile, halved
• 12 sweet mini peppers, halved
• 3/4 cup matchstick-cut carrot (might normally buy already matchsticked, but remember - I need to cut stuff today!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup snow peas, trimmed
• 3/4 cup fresh bean sprouts

Preparation

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add shrimp to vinegar mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain.

3. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add cashews, garlic, ginger, and chile to pan; stir-fry 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown. Remove cashew mixture from pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

4. Increase heat to high. Add sweet peppers, carrot, and salt to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add shrimp mixture (do not drain); stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in noodles and peas; cook 1 minute, tossing to coat. Return cashew mixture to pan. Add bean sprouts; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, tossing frequently.

5. Enjoy!

Reviews: 

Chef Tanya - Very tasty!  I did the chopping and Jason did the cooking and he and I have differing opinions about how long you should cook shrimp.  These were a bit chewy by my bite. But still, this recipe rivals Surin's Shrimp Pad Thai for me.

Jason - I thought it was very good.  One of the things I really liked about it was that the meat was not the center of the meal. It was much more flavorful because of the carrots, peas and especially the peppers. All those things in combination with the shrimp, garlic and ginger really melded well.

Olivia - Even though I don't like shrimp I actually liked this dinner. I liked the noodles and the snow peas.  Actually, I liked the shrimp!

Miranda - (already left the house tonight -- it's summer and she's 17! -- but her bowl was mostly empty, save a little noodle/pea remnant, so I'm going to say she liked it)

Hannah - (was saved from all the veggies by Nana & Papa, who are taking her to the beach for the week.  um, hello?!? where was my invite??)