... Grilled Shrimp and Noodle Salad

A new month means a new issue of Food Network Magazine and a happy Taylor.  I'm loving this new mag... have you checked it out yet?  It's always full of great recipes, many of which are dubbed "Weeknight Cooking" and take less than an hour to make.

The latest issue seemed to be full of Asian-inspired dishes.  There's a great list of mix-and-match stir fry recipes that I'm anxious to try, so keep an eye out for another blog post soon.  This time, though, we went with this tasty little noodle salad.  I think it'll be great all year around and I'm betting that it'll make pretty good leftovers, too.

Grilled Shrimp and Noodle Salad
serves 4

14 ounces flat rice noodles
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons Asian chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 pound medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium bunch asparagus, trimmed
5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, trimmed
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add the noodles and cook as the label directs; drain and rinse with cold water.

Meanwhile, whisk the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, chili sauce and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl.  Transfer 1/4 cup of the marinade to another bowl and toss with the shrimp.  Toss another 1/4 cup marinade with the asparagus and mushrooms in a third bowl.  Let the shrimp and vegetables marinate 10 minutes at room temperature.  Toss the noodles with the remaining marinade.

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high.  Grill the shrimp, asparagus and mushrooms until the shrimp is just cooked through and the asparagus is slightly tender, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Halve the mushrooms and cut the asparagus into pieces.

Divide the noodles among bowls and top with the shrimp, asparagus, mushrooms, carrot and cilantro.

Taylor's Notes:
Depending on the thickness of your asparagus, I would put that on the grill or in your grill pan early on.  Maybe do it when you add the noodles to the boiling water.  It'll take the longest to cook - much longer than the shrimp, especially if you buy pre-cooked shrimp like I did - and a little bit longer than the mushrooms.  So, I'd put the asparagus on, add the mushrooms a few minutes later - again, depending on their size - and then pop the shrimp on with a few minutes left.  


It's also a good idea to time the noodles with everything else as they get a little clumpy if they end up just sitting and waiting on the rest of the ingredients.  The marinade helps with that a little bit, but I think next time we'll try for better timing.


Other than those little tidbits of knowledge, this was a really good and easy recipe.  Rich was particularly enamored with it since it calls for Sriracha.  The boy loves some heat!  We both ended up adding some to our bowls while we were eating, but we also like things pretty spicy, so adjust as your tastebuds can handle.


I think this recipe might also be good with a peanut sauce marinade.  Once I figure out how to make one, I'll give it a shot and let you know :)


Enjoy!