Five Minute Red Pepper Shrimp

 
What's better than a homemade meal ready in five minutes?   By purchasing already peeled and deveined shrimp and carrots that have been chopped into match sticks, you can easily toss this entire meal together in five minutes.  Not bad for a busy weekday night!  This meal also happens to be gluten free, for those with sensitivities. 

Think outside the box, if shrimp isn't your thing, you could use cubes of salmon or cut up chicken strips.  Prep them in the morning and have dinner ready in a flash.   Quick, easy and delicious meals make it much easier to enjoy a healthy lifestyle we can stick with!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb shrimp, tail on but peeled and deveined

1/3 cup red pepper paste (see note)
5- 6 stalks green onions, cut with kitchen sheers into 1" strips
1 small package of matchstick carrots
1 clove of garlic, smashed and skin discarded     
1/2 - 2/3 cup water
Soy sauce or fish sauce, to taste
2 teaspoons cooking oil
6 ounces Thai rice vermicelli noodles  (approx. 1/3 of 17.5 ounce pkg)

1 – Bring 8 cups water to boil in large pot. Drop in rice noodles and cook for 1 minute.  Set aside.

2 – Heat oil in pan and add garlic rubbing around pan for about twenty seconds.  Remove and discard. 

3 –  Add carrots to pan and cook for 1 minute.  Add shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes until opaque. 

4 – Add in pepper paste and stir to coat, then pour in ½ cup of the water.  Add more, if necessary, to desired consistency.   Stir in green onions. 

5 – Add soy sauce or fish sauce to taste and serve over vermicelli noodles.   Makes 4 servings. 

 

Note: Red Pepper Paste is a ground up pepper concentrate that is similar to tomato paste.  It is imported from Turkey and can be purchased locally on Delmarva at the Mediterranean/Sudanese grocery M & S Organics, on South Division Street in Salisbury.  The Rice Vermicelli Noodles are from Thailand, available locally in Asian grocers and even in the ethnic aisles of some local grocery stores. 

Recipe makes 4 servings.  Per serving: