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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
Just wondering if leftovers keep!
Hi Emily,
I would say for no longer than a day! I hope you enjoyed the recipe! xTieghan
Anxious to try this, but wonder if I have to use fish sauce? I tried it another recipe once (not yours) and eek! Is there a substitute?
HI! You can simply omit the fish sauce. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
This piqued my interest as I love all the ingredients but was a little wary on how they would work together. Holy cow, this is delish!! Thanks for pulling together something so crazy & amazing!
Thank you so much Jennifer! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
If you are using shrimp from frozen, you should thaw first?
Hi! Yes, please thaw the shrimp before cooking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
This dish plated beautifully but my only downside was there was no heat and too bland for my liking. Next time I wouldn’t seed one of the jalapenos and chop it as is or add something else for heat.
Hi Sofia! I am sorry to hear that! Please let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you love some other recipes of mine! xTieghan
Can’t wait to make this! One thing – is there a milder substitute for the jalapenos? Thanks!
HI! You can just use a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Obsessed with everything you create! So easy for a college student to whip up. I’ve made a few recipes so far and can’t wait to make more!
So amazing! Thank you so much Isabelle! xTieghan
This was soooo delicious! I enjoyed it the first night, but the next night when I was eating leftovers and the flavors had time to meld together. *chefs kiss*
So happy I found this blog!
I am so happy you did as well! And loved this recipe! Thank you for trying, Reese! xTieghan
So delicious!! I made it tonight. My boyfriend and I loved it! Will definitely make it again.
Aw amazing! Thank you for trying this Sarah! xTieghan
This looks SO good!
Thank you so much Emily! xTieghan
I was quite surprised as I thought I would love this. But the flavours were a bit all over and unless you watched the video instead of just reading through the directions for the recipe, the execution was I felt messy and lacking the real punch I had hoped for! Not enough emphasis on chillies as well as jalapeno’s! I would do away with the bacon all together as it didn’t add anything much but nitrates and fat, and I also would have marinated the ginger and garlic with the chillies and even the lime zest to enhance more of the flavours! That was remarked by my husband also as he helped sous chef this meal. Lovely to look at but just didn’t knock my sox off this one!
Hi Kelly! I am sorry this one wasn’t too great for you! Please let me know if there are any questions you have! I hope you love all of the other recipes you try! xTieghan
So amazing, my family loved this Thai inspired dish! The coconut milk with ginger & shrimp filled my house with an aroma that was mouthwatering. Thanks so much for another fabulous recipe ?
Thank you so much Patrice! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I omitted the bacon, and added a little heat at the end. So good!!
Hi Casey! Sounds amazing! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you! xTieghan
Making this tonight. What kind of peppers are the red peppers in your final pic? LOVE your recipes!!!
Hi DeeDee! I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you!! Those are red serrano peppers! They add a little spice! Let me know how this turns out for you! xTieghan
I made this last week and gave it 4 starts (my personal highest rating). The addition of bacon was brilliant! I just recently came across your website when I was looking for a shrimp and coconut milk recipe: happy day!. Of course, I love anything with coconut or coconut milk. I’ve made the Pad Thai, and I’ve saved several more of your recipes. So happy to have “found you!” Thank you.
Haha I am glad you did as well! Thank you so much Karlette! xTieghan