Shrimp Udon Noodle Soup
A hearty Asian soup with the perfect balance of spicy, sweet and earthy flavors
Ingredients
- 1 lb tiger or Argentinian red shrimp, peeled + deveined
- 2 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 1½ Tbsp fresh ginger, grated (a 1-1½ inch piece)
- 2 medium red bell peppers, sliced and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large carrot, julienned or chopped small
- 1 jalapeño, finely diced
- 2 medium shallots, diced small (or 1 medium red onion)
- 1½ cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced (or maitake mushrooms)
- 4 cups seafood stock (or low sodium chicken/vegetable stock)
- 2 tsp coconut aminos (or low sodium soy sauce)
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar (I love Eden organic brown rice vinegar)
- 1½ Tbsp white miso (I love Eden organic shiro miso)
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce (or sambal paste)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 1 Tsp Chinese five spice
- 2 cups bok choy (or kale), stems removed and sliced into strips
- 12 oz cooked Japanese udon noodles I like Annie Chun's organic
- 4 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2" pieces (more for garnish)
- Black pepper freshly cracked, to taste
- Celtic sea salt to taste
- 1 lime, cut into wedges for serving (optional)
- fresh cilantro (garnish, optional)
- 1 fresno pepper, sliced (garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Put shrimp in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, then add 1 clove of grated garlic and 1 Tbsp of Thai sweet chili sauce and mix to coat shrimp. Cover and let marinate in fridge until you're ready to cook them (~10 minutes).
- In a stock pot, heat 1 Tbsp of coconut oil over medium heat. Add shallots/onions, bell peppers, carrots and jalapeños. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly until vegetables begin to soften (~2 minutes).
- Add ginger, garlic + mushrooms and cook another couple minutes (stirring constantly), until the shallots/onions start to turn golden brown. (The goal is to not fully cook the tougher vegetables are still slightly crunchy and to make sure the mushrooms still have body to them.)
- Add stock, vinegar, coconut aminos/soy sauce, miso, chili garlic sauce, sugar, red curry and five spice into pot. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer for approximately 5 minutes (vegetables should be tender).
- Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, heat remaining 1 Tbsp coconut oil on medium heat. Add shrimp and its marinade to pan and cook shrimp until pink throughout (~2 minutes per side). Remove shrimp from heat (cut into pieces if desired) and add to the stock pot along with the udon noodles, green onions and bok choy/kale. Stir to combine and let simmer for 2 minutes.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with green onions, cilantro and a lime wedge.
Notes
- This is a great Asian fusion soup base, and you can sub pork or chicken for the shrimp if you're allergic to shellfish.
- It can easily be made vegan/vegetarian by omitting the shrimp and using vegetable stock.
- Cleaning the shrimp and getting it in the fridge first is important to infuse as much flavor into them as possible before cooking.
- As with all of my recipes that contain vegetables, I highly recommend using organic produce, as well as any of the other ingredients, whenever possible.
- The broth is pretty rich, so you may want to add a little more stock/water to taste, particularly when reheating leftovers.