Hoisin Rice Noodles with Shrimp {Or Chicken or Pork or…}
I think if you had to nail me down, the food I crave most for dinner is on the Asian-style spectrum. I love the vegetables and colors and flavors. And Asian noodles dishes? Well, they complete me. It’s my go-to choice for when I decide to uncrave the meal I had already planned or when I need a quick weeknight dinner.
Word has it that the craze of the new school year has started in many places and I don’t know about you, but when that happens for us in a few weeks, I’m going to be looking for quick, easy dinners to save my sanity.
This simple, 30-minute dinner is exactly what I’m talking about.
Beautiful in presentation and beautiful because you can customize it any way you like. Swap in different vegetables/garnishes, take out the shrimp and use chicken or pork or heck, make it meatless.
It is versatile and destined to be delicious no matter what you do.
I happen to love and adore rice noodles.
The texture is quite different from traditional Italian-style pasta strands but they are extremely tasty especially paired with a flavorful sauce like this (we’re talking hoisin and soy sauce and a hint of fresh lime, creamy peanut butter and a bit of sweetness and bite).
This mess of noodles and vegetables and shrimp is an explosion of flavor and texture from the tender, thin noodles to the crunch of fresh vegetables.
Can you see why Asian noodles dishes fill my dreams? I could eat this every night of the week and be totally A-ok. What style of food do you crave most often??
A really, great flatbread (for homemade I suggest this Flatbread, Soft Wrap Bread, or Naan)
Fresh, seasonal fruit
A simple green salad (or for something fancier this Massaged Kale and Craisin Salad)
One Year Ago: Lemon Yogurt Bread
Two Years Ago: BBQ Macaroni Salad
Three Years Ago: Summer Garden Vegetable Soup
Hoisin Rice Noodles with Shrimp
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter or tahini
- 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 12 ounces rice noodles
- Grated carrots, chopped green onions, chopped peanuts, chopped cilantro, chopped red pepper for topping
Directions:
- Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions by soaking in hot water.
- For the sauce, whisk together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, honey, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, ginger, hoisin and peanut butter. Set aside.
- Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry and season them on both sides with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp with about 1/3 cup of the sauce until they are bright pink and cooked through, flipping once or twice, about 3-4 minutes. Scoop the shrimp and sauce onto a plate and set aside.
- Drain the noodles and add them to the hot skillet with the rest of the sauce. Cook over medium heat, tossing the noodles with the sauce, about 3-4 minutes until the noodles have soaked up a lot of the sauce and become even more tender.
- Add the shrimp and heat through.
- Serve the noodles and shrimp with the grated carrots, chopped green onions, chopped peanuts, chopped cilantro, and chopped red pepper. I let everyone at the table add their own toppings to the noodles. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes:
This dish is wildly adaptable. You could easily sub in chicken or pork for the shrimp and swap out the veggies and garnishes for ones you prefer. You could even use angel hair pasta instead of the rice noodles if you’d like. To really maximize the time, start preparing the rice noodles; while they soak/cook, whisk together the sauce and let the shrimp marinate while the noodles finish up. Get the chopping of the vegetables/garnishes finished and once the noodles and shrimp are ready, this dish will come together in a flash.
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Recipe Source: adapted from Pinch of Yum
I make this frequently for quick weeknight meals. I often substitute a box of vermicelli for the rice noodles and use chicken instead of shrimp. Great flavorful dish that comes together in a snap!
I added sautéed zucchini and mushrooms and another pepper. I generally use less soy sauce than recipes call for, so I probably used about 1/3 cup. I had pork and shrimp on hand so we had it with both. My kids and husband gave it the thumbs up! Thanks, Mel!
I was intrigued with hoisin to give this a try. Overall excellent. I backed off on sauce ingredients by 1/3 and left out the sesame oil. Added juvenile carrots and cucumbers in the last minute and tossed. Thank you.
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I had chicken I needed to use (in place of the shrimp). The flavors were restaurant quality and dish was easy to make.
My adaptations: I used jarred garlic and ginger as I had it on hand, added crushed red pepper flakes and toasted sesame seeds before serving as well as optional toppings including shredded cabbage and cooked peas. Everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again. Flavors are perfect on their own without a protein for a great vegetarian option.
I made this tonight (with the shrimp). It was quick and delicious. I forgot to put the ginger in 🙁 I’m sure that would have made it even better.
This was really wonderful – everyone loved it. Made as you said and only used 2/3 of the sauce, and it was plenty saucy! Perfect for some more noodles tomorrow…thank you.
Mel
Do you think I could substitute almond butter for peanut butter? My husband is allergic to peanuts but can have almond butter…
I haven’t tried it, Kelsey but I think it’s definitely worth experimenting!
Try tahini (ground sesame seeds)! Tastes delicious!
I too crave Asian-style foods! Tried this recipe tonight and it was absolutely delicious…and easy! Only differences were that I added some chili flakes for a little spice, and made a vinegar dressing for veggies. Will certainly save this recipe!
Made this 2 nights ago… Way too much. Ate the leftovers last night and tonight for a snack and its after 10 and I am seriously contemplating making more right now. This dish is delicious and then some. I don’t normally comment on stuff but had to with with one. Thanks for the recipe.
My husband made this last night after I found the recipe (it was his turn to cook, or I would have made it.) It was a HUGE hit with our kids (3 and 4 years old) and that so rarely ever happens! It’s definitely going into our rotation of go-to meals since we all enjoyed it!
How much shrimp or chicken would you suggest using? With the chicken, do you chop it into bite sized chunks?
Hi Julie – probably about a pound of either chicken or shrimp and yes, I chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Are sesame oil and toasted sesame oil the same? Can you use toasted?
Tara – They have different flavors, usually. The toasted sesame oil is much nuttier and a bit stronger in taste, but if I only have one or the other on hand, I use them interchangeably. The toasted sesame oil gives a dish a bit deeper flavor profile, I think.
Looking up this recipe to make it, yet again! It is one our our faves!! It is delicious!
Thanks, Mel!!
Awesome, thanks! Shopping for ingredients as we speak. 😉
Hi Mel, just wondering what kind of rice vinegar? At my store there’s “original – seasoned” OR “natural”. There are more additives in the original-seasoned.
Thanks!
Hi Virginia – I usually try to look for unseasoned rice vinegar (so the natural one you found should work great).
I’m thoroughly confused why my rice noodles were brown and not white like traditional rice noodle dishes… or like your photos and I followed the recipe exactly. I’m wondering if those pictures are even yours?
This dish tasted way way too strongly of sesame oil and rice vinegar too. :/ Very disappointing.
Chrissy – I’m sorry you didn’t like this. But I take offense when people suggest that the pictures are not mine or are not authentic to the recipe I posted. Those pictures of the rice noodle dish are indeed mine and they are exactly the way this dish looks when I make it. Perhaps the flavor profile of this recipe isn’t what you prefer or the rice noodles you bought weren’t the kind I used, I’m not sure.
This is definitely my kind of dish! I have a TON of rice noodles in my pantry just waiting to be used up and I absolutely LOVE hoisin. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
This was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it even my 5 year old who eats NOTHING and lives on air!! She looked at me, gave me the thumbs up and said “make again”!! I did use angel hair and chicken (shellish allergy) and when the chicken was cooked, I took it out and threw in broccoli and mushrooms to cook. Wish I had scallions but I didn’t so I’ll have to try it with them next time. Such a quick cook with lots of flavor. I have a feeling that the leftovers will be great for lunch at work even though there isn’t much leftover! Thank you again for all your recipes. There is not one that we haven’t loved yet!!
Being of asian descent, I have these ingredients on hand. Rarely, do I come across recipes I do not like. I was excited to try this one out because the photo looked so good! Last night, we finally made it. It was so bad that the BF couldn’t finish his. I ended up throwing most of it out. I’ve made other recipes on this site and they were good. This one was not.
I made this a few days ago and am already craving it again! I used chicken and angel hair pasta. Oh, and I never buy hoisin sauce. I just google it and throw it together from
What I have at home. (I keep a lot of Asian ingredients on hand) I just realized I made the last 3 recipes you posted including this one. I must be your biggest fan! I must say, I, for one, really appreciate what you do and all you share with all of us! You are incredible, Mel!
I love rice noodles, so I was excited to try this recipe and it didn’t disappoint! I used shrimp and all the listed toppings plus some fresh jalapeños and it was amazing!! My hubby loved it, and claimed the leftovers for his lunch! BTW, I definitely crave asian inspired dishes the most too, I love the flavors..
I made this last night, with salmon that I chopped into squares (before reading the comments, so I used the full amount of soy sauce, but regular – not low sodium). Even if it was a little salty, it was delicious! The noodles really soak up the flavor of the sauce, and the toppings (I used chopped scallions, cilantro, grated carrots and raw red peppers) elevated this from “just noodles” to “this is really good!” Husband approved. Will put this into rotation. Good way to use the hoisin sitting in your fridge.
Do you have a brand of rice noodles you prefer? This looks delicious!
Hi Sarah – I think the brand I have in my pantry right now are Annie Chun (I order them on amazon since they are hard to find in my little town).
*crockpot
Amazing!! We made this for dinner last week, and the flavor is seriously amazing. This meal is light and fresh and pure deliciousness! We used chicken (just cooked it in the crickpot that day) and added some edamame, avacado, and cucumber into the topping choices. Thank you, Mel!
This was awesome! I couldn’t find rice noodles so I used rice sticks – it was great! I also used chicken instead of shrimp.
This was so good!! I thought I had hoisin but didn’t, so I substitued oyster sauce, and it still turned out great! I used less oyster sauce, since it seems stronger than hoisin.
I made this for dinner the other night and it was amazing! I used rice noodles, and served it with chicken, carrots, red peppers, green onions, cilantro, and broccoli.
I know you do quite a bit of gluten free cooking. Do you ever use Tamari in place of Soy Sauce? I have tried Tamari in a number of recipes; sometimes it seems fine, and other times is is way too strong. The reading I have done varies greatly in opinion and experience. I wondered about yours…?!? Do you have any experience using Tamari?
Hi Candise – I’ve tried tamari a time or two in recipes that specifically ask for it (like Pad Thai) but haven’t subbed it for soy sauce. I’m sorry I’m not more help!
I love Asian dishes too. I’d say that the food that I most often crave is Italian followed by Asian and Mexican 🙂
I made this over the weekend and really liked it! The only thing i would change is to cut back on the amount of rice noodles, it was very noodle heavy. Great flavor, though, thank you!!
This looks delicious! It will be dinner sometime soon.
I crave Italian/Italian-American first, then Asian-style, then Tex-Mex/Southwestern style.
About using regular soy sauce instead of low-sodium: I’ve read to reduce the amount by 1/4 to 1/3 and replace the volume with water. In this recipe I’d use 1/3 cup soy sauce and then water.
I made this for dinner tonight. I used regular soy sauce and it was still good, but it seemed like the sauce was too powerful. I bet it was because of the soy sauce. Also I couldn’t bring myself to put in 3TB sesame oil because its so potent (I put 1TB). But I still ate my weight in it, and I’ll be making it again!
I’m about to make this for dinner and I went to two stores to try to find rice noodles. I found rice sticks, which are the wider variety and extremely chewy. So I just stuck with the angel hair. I’m excited to try it out! Wish I had rice noodles though.
I just found your blog today, and I made this for dinner tonight. My family and I loved the sauce, but we didn’t care for the rice noodles. I will definitely add this to the rotation, but I will use angel hair pasta next time. I am looking forward to trying more recipes from your site. Thanks for sharing !!
Penelope
I definitely crave mexican food the most (or tex-mex I suppose because I doubt my mexican is very authentic). The beans, spices, cheese, avocadoes etc. Almost all my favorite foods piled into one affordable, easy meal. I make tacos, burritos, fajitas, whatever, at least once a week, and quite often more than that.
Oh, we love hoisin in general, so I’m pinning and making soon!
Mel, THANK YOU, I made this tonight and it was FABULOUS!!! My husband has added it to “The LIST” (it takes a lot to meet the criteria to make “The LIST”). We loved the flavors and textures. Again thank you!!
I crave Asian and Indian foods. Two questions. If I don’t have low sodium soy sauce do I need to decrease the amount of soy sauce? I recently made a recipe that called for low sodium soy sauce and I just used regular soy sauce, and it was bad. Dump down the drain bad. Not salvageable. Two, if you were going to make it meatless, would I just heat the drained noodles in a sauce pan with the sauce and then resume following your directions?
Kim – I always use low-sodium soy sauce so I don’t know exactly what to tell you but I think your idea is good – if using full sodium soy sauce, I’d probably decrease the soy sauce by at least 1/3. And yes, if you were going to go meatless, just skip that step and toss the heated noodles with the sauce.
I’d be making this tonight, if I only had hoisin sauce!! Love your site. Your recipes have become a staple in my household.
My mouth is watering…
Wow, that looks totally awesome and my husband will be very grateful to you!! I love Mexican and most of the family doesn’t, so it’s always my birthday dinner.=) Thanks for the great meals, sister!
I crave Mexican food the most! Thankfully my family enjoys it because I make it often! These noodles look fabulous and delicious!
I probably crave Italian most. I have three Asian children ( grown now) so I’ve made a lot of Asian food over the years. I love rice noodles, so this recipe will be on my to do list for the weekend!
I crave Asian style food more than any other, too! This is my kinda meal!
Making this week. Pinned 🙂
I agree — noodles are where it’s at!! I love Asian meals because I get the noodles that I love, but not all the heaviness of Italian food. These look fabulous!!
Like you, I crave Asian food. This looks amazing, Mel! I love the rice noodles and the freshness of all of the veggies in this dish. i will make this with chicken, and i know it will be delicious. There is just something about the sweet, spicy, salty combination of flavors that makes Asian food addicting! Chinese, Thai, Korean, Indonesian, etc…I love it all!
I crave Asian- inspired foods. I love the flavors, the noodles or rice… it’s always such a good combo.
Yummy goodness! Nice pictures . . .the pictures alone makes you want to indulge immediately in this meal. 🙂 Definitely, the food I crave most is your homemade pizza and sauce (the best!).