Quick-Fix Fancy Shrimp Ramen
My blog should really have two taglines, but there was only room for one above. The second one is “encouraging people to enjoy the act of cooking at home.”
While Jeff and I love going out to our favorite restaurants once (sometimes twice) a week, other than that, we are cooking at home. Even if it’s just simple sandwiches and salads, we think the effort we put into it is worth it.
Cooking a meal together gives us a chance to catch up before we go about our evening activities, like more work (ugh) or schoolwork (Jeff is working on a master’s degree).
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to encourage more people to follow this lead. Two strategies I recommend are prepping ahead, and using a little help from the grocery store when you can.
When you think of a “prep ahead dinner,” a colorful bowl of fancy ramen noodles might not come to mind. But I ensure you that with a little bit of prep work on the weekend before you serve this meal, these bowls can come together at dinnertime in about 15 minutes.
Just like with my tomato ramen, all of the garnishes I’ve used here can be cut 24 hours in advance, and stored in the fridge in plastic bags, or simply on a plate covered with plastic wrap.
Now that we’ve talked about the “prepping ahead” portion of the event, let’s move on to “using a little help from the grocery store.” Some people might shy away from this, thinking that all meals made at home need to be 100% homemade.
But in my opinion, if there’s an item at your grocery store that will save you a little bit of time (and that might mean the difference between cooking at home and going out to eat yet again) by all means – bring that item home.
To quickly add some super flavorful shrimp to these ramen bowls, I used frozen shrimp scampi. While people generally associate scampi with Italian dishes or even seafood pasta salad, it worked great for this Asian-inspired meal, too.
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The quick-cooking shrimp is coated in a butter, garlic and herb sauce that added a huge punch of flavor to this easy meal.
One last note on this recipe: don’t shy away from serving noodle bowls like this to kids! If your kids want to just eat a bowl of noodles, shrimp and broth, they definitely can.
But I’m guessing they won’t be able to resist choosing a few colorful veggie toppings when given the choice. Garnish these bowls with whatever vegetables your family likes best.
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Quick-Fix Fancy Shrimp Ramen
Ingredients
Prep-Ahead Garnishes:
- 6 green onions thinly sliced
- 6 radishes thinly sliced
- 2 limes quartered
- 2 cups thinly sliced or grated carrots
- 1 ½ cups thinly sliced cucumber
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cup corn kernels thawed if frozen
- Sriracha for serving (optional)
Quick-Fix Fancy Shrimp Ramen:
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 8 cups less-sodium beef broth chicken or vegetable broth may also be used
- 4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 package forbidden rice ramen (any variety of ramen may be used; discard seasoning packets) 4 ramen cakes
- 2 packages frozen shrimp scampi 12 ounces each
Instructions
Prep the Garnishes:
- Up to 24 hours before serving, prep all garnishes. Store in fridge in plastic bags, or on plate covered with plastic wrap.
Make the Shrimp Ramen:
- In large pot, bring garlic, broth, vinegar, ginger and soy sauce to boil. Add ramen and cook according to package directions for boiling water (about 4 minutes), using fork to break up noodle cakes.
- Meanwhile, prepare Shrimp Scampi according to package directions.
- Divide noodles and broth between 6 serving bowls. Divide Shrimp Scampi over noodles. Serve with Prep-Ahead Garnishes.
My cheat meals at home are actually SeaPak. I could eat that whole box of popcorn or butterfly shrimp and then round it out with a vegetable side or something. I do the prep tip you mentioned. Since I go through so much onion per week, I just chop it all up at once and use as I go. Same thing with cabbage – I chop it ALL up then divide into 3-4 containers so my chopping is done the rest of the week. Never thought to make ramen with the shrimp scampi. Big thumbs up!
Love the tip for chopping everything at once. So smart. I always *mean* to do that, but end up forgetting.
I am with you on cooking at home. We go out to eat fairly frequently, but our favorite restaurant has gone downhill with a change in management, so I am less likely to want to go out. Besides that, with all the recipes I get from food bloggers like you, I HAVE to cook at home to try them all!
Oh no, what a bummer about your favorite restaurant, Susan. That’s like when a restaurant takes your favorite dish off their menu. It’s the worst! Maybe you can try to recreate some of your favorite restaurant’s meals at home?
Love the short cut of the pre flavored shrimp!!!!
Thanks Leslie! It had SO much flavor. I was so glad I chose to use it!
Lori, love this ramen bowl! and are those black ramen noodles? if so, I’ve got to find the forbidden rice ramen! and love this “encouraging people to enjoy the act of cooking at home.” I totally agree. . cooking can be so therapeutic and great for couples!!! and you save money, yo!
Hi Alice! Yep, it’s black ramen (well, it came out kind of purple). It’s this brand right here: http://www.lotusfoods.com/index.php/products/rice-ramen/organic-forbidden-rice-ramen-4-ramen-cakes/
I ordered it from an organic delivery service I use, but I bet you could also find it at Whole Foods? Honestly, the noodles didn’t have a ton of flavor, but of course, it’s all about making sure the broth is flavorful. But the black noodles are just one of those ingredients that make eating at home night after night a bit more fun, you know? Why not.
we love SeaPak for quick dinners – I could eat this dish every day!!
Thanks so much, Cheryl. Gotta love quick dinners!
This looks so good! LOVE shrimp! So quick and easy to cook!
Thanks Julie 🙂
These look delicious! I love how you’ve packed so much color and flavor into a bowl! Can’t wait to try this one. Pinning!
Thanks so much, Christi!
Cooking together really is such a great way to reconnect at the end of the day, and your tip about prepping ahead is such a good one! And this ramen…I could eat that every night!
I have been noodle bowl OBSESSED lately, so I pretty much HAVE been eating it every night 🙂
What a beautiful bowl of goodness! Great dinner idea! xo
Thanks so much, Jenny!