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Sharing an easy…let’s make this weeknight feel special…dinner, Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles. Spicy, garlicky, and gingery shrimp, pan seared and tossed with a touch of butter and coconut milk. This dish is creamy, saucy, a touch salty, and just a little spicy. It’s served over rice noodles and comes together in no time at all (about 30 minutes). Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something a little more special, but still quick, healthy-ish, and DELICIOUS.
Recipes like this saucy shrimp are my favorite. This shrimp has a mix of flavors, fusion food as some might say. It’s quick, it’s saucy, relatively healthy (there’s some sneaky greens in all that sauce), and just an all around delicious meal.
Traditionally garlic shrimp is more of an Italian dish, and is served simply with butter and lemons. But I wanted to put a twist on the classic and switch things up a bit.
So I threw in some Thai flavors by adding creamy coconut milk, a squeeze of fresh lime, and rice noodles. Yes, it’s different, and I will probably get criticized for this not being “authentic” over on Instagram (if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all, right?). But hey, my purpose here is to provide you guys with easy and delicious recipes, this shrimp is both, so all is good.
The shrimp is first tossed with a little olive oil, garlic, ginger, and spicy jalapeño. These are the main flavors, so if you don’t love garlic, this recipe might not be for you. And if you want to tame the spice level, just use one jalapeño.
Let the shrimp sit a few minutes and cook the rice noodles. I really love using vermicelli rice noodles, but any noodle works, so use your favorite.
Next, cook up some bacon. It adds a really deep flavor and a hint of saltiness that is delicious. Go with me on this. Now, pan sear the shrimp. The key is to remove the shrimp from the garlic marinade. If you cook the shrimp in the marinade, the shrimp with steam, and the garlic will burn. So first remove the shrimp, cook, add the butter, and then add all of that garlicky marinade. As the butter melts, the garlic caramelizes around the shrimp creating truly the most mouth-watering smell (and delicious sauce).
This is that moment you know the recipe is going to be good…so good.
At this point, I like to remove half of the shrimp and save it for topping. Honestly, you don’t have to do this step. You can instead leave the shrimp in the skillet and combine it with the coconut milk. I just like to remove some of the shrimp so that it stays crisp…and if being truly honest, for photo purposes.
Once the coconut milk has been added, the shrimp looses it’s crispness a bit. It’s also a little more visually appealing to have a few shrimp sitting atop the rice noodles. And we all know that I’m all about a visually good-looking dish…
You guys always ask if I do anything special to the food for photos, and the answer really is no. But I like to add garnishes or pull out tricks like this one…
If you have something extra saucy, or you’re making a soup and want to keep the dish both colorful and full of texture. To create a beautiful looking dish, remove a little bit of one of the main elements of the recipe. In today’s case the shrimp. But think along the lines of keeping out some of the chickpeas in a curry, or the noodles in a soup, things like that. Then reserve them for topping the dish just before serving. Again, this is not necessary for flavor purposes. But if you want to create that “Instagram worthy” food photo, this is one of my go-to tricks to really make food pop off the page, as seen in the cacio e pepe, lemon garlic chicken soup, and herb salad.
Okay, styling talk over. Moving along now.
Once I’ve removed half the shrimp from the skillet, I add the coconut milk. I know the coconut milk might seem like an odd ingredient to add, but as I mentioned, I wanted to put my own twist on a classic, and the coconut milk creates a creamy, flavorful sauce.
It’s beyond good. Especially with the rice noodles. It’s kind of like Italian meets Thai. A weird, but delicious mash-up that’s just a touch cozy, a touch on the healthy side, and all things good. And quick, which is always a very nice bonus!
If you make this saucy garlic shrimp, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 970 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 3 strips thick cut slices bacon, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup extra olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro OR basil, roughly chopped (use you personal favorite)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 cups baby spinach or kale, roughly chopped
- juice and zest from 1/2 a lime
- sliced jalapeño pepper and green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a medium size bowl, toss together the shrimp, olive oil, honey, garlic, ginger, and jalapeños. Toss well to combine. 2. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions.3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate.4. Working with the same skillet, use a slotted spoon to scoop the shrimp out of the marinade, reserving the marinade, and into the hot skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the reserved marinade, the butter and a large pinch of pepper. Continue to cook the shrimp in the butter until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn light golden brown, about another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove half the shrimp and reserve for topping. 5. To the skillet, add the coconut milk, 1/3-1/2 cup water, spinach, and the fish sauce. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 3-5 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and zest, and the cilantro, or basil.6. To serve, divide the noodles among bowls. Spoon the sauce and reserved shrimp and bacon over the noodles. Top with peppers and green onions. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on February 13, 2019
You are always my go too when I need something special!
This was amazing and my partner says if he was served this at a restaurant he would be a happy man!
I didn’t have any prawns (shrimp) on hand so I used the fish fillets I had (barramundi in Australia) and it was a top 10 dish from my family!
Definitely a thumbs up from me and I’ll be keeping this in my favourites file!
I am so glad you loved this recipe, Suzi! Thank you so much! xTieghan
This was sooo good! I’ve never made anything thai inspired so I was a little hesitant, but this was a great recipe to start with. I made the full recipe for just two of us…which meant an awesome lunch for us the next day. If you like spicy, don’t skimp on the jalapeno like I did. I was worried it would be too hot, so I cut the recipe down to just one pepper – don’t do it! Will be making again!
I am so glad this turned out amazing for you for you first thai recipe! Thank you Jeanna! xTieghan
You officially have a recipe stalker! I just made this for dinner and it was so easy and so delicious!!! I served it over spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles and it was perfect! Every single one of your recipes that I’ve made have gotten raves!
Ah I am so glad you love this recipe, Denise! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Quick question – do we drain the excess bacon fat at the end of step 3, before we add the shrimp to the skillet? Thanks!
Hey Nikki! If there is a lot of bacon grease you should drain somme off, but leave about 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made this last night and LOVED it. I’m so excited for leftovers today. I omitted the jalapeno because we’re wimps. Also had to leave out the fish sauce because my son has a fin fish allergy. Still so yummy!
Thank you so much Meredith! I am so glad this turned out amazing for you and your family! xTieghan
This was seriously so delicious! Love the garlic flavor and the coconut milk was so unexpected and the perfect complement! Even my husband loved it. We will add this to the weekday rotation – it’s so different and seriously delish!
Thank you so much Jen! xTieghan
Oh my word, this was absolutely amazing!! My husband and I made it last night for dinner (currently eating leftovers right now). I devoured my bowl in like 5 minutes. We will definitely be making this again. Without a doubt, this is my favorite recipe we’ve made this year! 22 down, 28 to go and its only February…
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this, Laura! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was fantastic. I added some crimini mushrooms and used Thai basil but otherwise made it exactly as you described. Delicious!
I am so happy to hear this turned out so well for you! Thank you Kelly! xTieghan
Would a person be able to swap the canned coconut milk or carton coconut milk? Thanks!
HI! I don’t recommend a carton as it is much less thick than canned coconut milk. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
cooking special for someone special too
lets try it ^^
poker online
poker online
We made this tonight pescatarian!! I’m sure it would be even more delicious with bacon, but it was still really yummy! We saw your comment below to do 2 tablespoons of olive oil instead. Loved it!
I am so glad you loved this Caroline! Thank you!! xTieghan
I loved the flavor combination and would definitely make again! This was a surprisingly quick and easy recipe to make. I am really looking forward to making this for my parents in a month.
I am so glad you loved this and I hope your parents do as well, Michael! Thank you so much! xTieghan
My husband and I made this together tonight and all of us (including teenage son) thought it was delicious! Will most certainly be making again.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much Karen! xTieghan
Vegetarian here! Any recommendations on what to Sub for the bacon? Or just omit altogether?
HI! I recommend just omitting the bacon all together. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Cooked this dish tonight and it was so delicious! One of my new favorites and so easy to follow. Love it!
I am so happy to hear that Paige! Thank you so much! xTieghan