Making this quick 30-minute recipe for stir-fry rice noodles with shrimp is easier than picking up take-out! In this easy Asian-inspired recipe, rice noodles are stir-fried with shrimp, scrambled egg and a sweet, salty and slightly tangy sauce for Pad Thai lovers.
This 30-minute dinner made from rice noodles and shrimp is an easy alternative to take-out. It has sweet-salty and umami flavors similar to Pad Thai, but the sauce is made from just a few simple ingredients.
The sauce is a tangy and sweet and really satisfying with egg and shrimp. If you like rice noodles, make sure to also try this cold rice noodle salad.
Looking for another easy stir-fry recipe? Try my Rice Noodles with broccoli and mushrooms with or ground chicken stir fry.
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Ingredients
If you want this recipe to turn out well, it's important to use the exact same sauce ingredients that are listed. Do not try to substitute other ingredients in place of distilled white vinegar, white sugar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, lower-sodium soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. The sauce has a balance of sweet, salty and tangy flavors (kind of like Pad Thai) and if you change the ingredients, it won't taste right.
Bragg Liquid Aminos can be found in most grocery stores. Liquid aminos have a salty, umami flavor that reminds me of a combination of soy sauce, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Liquid aminos is a gluten-free seasoning or "liquid protein concentrate" made from soybeans. It is called liquid aminos because it has 16 essential amino acids
In this recipe, I use it in place of fish sauce, which is often added to noodle dishes like Pad Thai. You can also use liquid aminos to flavor other noodle dishes, tofu, salad dressings and marinades. It's really versatile!
For a detailed list of ingredients and ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Cook Rice Noodles
Read my detailed recipe how to cook rice noodles to learn everything you need to know about rice noodles. The main thing you need to know is that overcooked rice noodles release a lot of starch and become very sticky and gummy.
Below are two most important tips for making sure the rice noodles have the right texture and do not become sticky and gummy.
- Soak in hot water: Bring a pot of water to a boil then turn the heat off. Add the rice noodles and swirl the noodles around occasionally with tongs to make sure they don't stick together. Soak the noodles for 6 to 10 minutes, depending on the brand and how wide the noodles are. I usually soak the noodles for 7 minutes. The texture should be just barely tender with a little bit of firmness. The texture should not be hard when you bite down, but you also don't want the rice noodles to be overly soft.
- Rinse the rice noodles with cold water. There's some disagreement about how necessary this step is, but I find that cold water stops the cooking process and washes away excess starch, which prevents the noodles from having a sticky, glue-like texture.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Rice Noodles with Shrimp
For detailed instructions and ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Step 1: Soak the rice noodles in very hot water. Rinse with cold water to remove starch.
Step 2: Whisk together the sauce: distilled white vinegar, sugar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Step 3: In a hot wok or skillet, combine the sauce and noodles.
Step 4: Saute the shrimp.
Step 5: Cook the scrambled egg, keeping the egg a little bit soft and runny.
Step 6: Toss the sauced rice noodles with the cooked shrimp and egg. Garnish with green onion and a squeeze of lime.
Recipe Tip
This recipe comes together very quickly on the stove. It's important that you have all of your ingredients lined up and ready to add to the hot pan. You should have five bowls of prepped ingredients ready to go before turning on the burner: soaked rice noodles, whisked sauce, shrimp patted dry, whisked eggs and chopped green onion.
Recipe FAQ
Sure! Instead of shrimp, add tofu to the noodles. I like Easy Weeknight Tofu, or you can use your own favorite tofu recipe. You can also leave out the eggs, if you'd like a vegan version.
I often serve this meal with steamed broccoli on the side. You could also add handfuls of baby spinach to the noodles as they cook.
Sure, just cut a pound of chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Saute the chicken in the wok with oil for 5 to 7 minutes until cooked. Season with salt, and garlic powder if you like.
All of your questions about rice noodles can be answered with this helpful recipe How to Cook Rice Noodles.
Yes, rice noodles are gluten-free.
Distilled white vinegar is easy to find in the vinegar aisle at grocery stores. It's very affordable and versatile, an all-purpose ingredient that's used for both cooking and cleaning. If a white vinegar is safe for both cleaning AND cooking, it will be found in the regular vinegar section of a grocery store and should say on the label that it's suitable for consumption. For cooking, distilled white vinegar is used for an assertive but neutral vinegar flavor. For cleaning, I use distilled white vinegar in my Natural Kitchen Cleaner.
Yes, distilled white vinegar is distilled from grain alcohol, not fruit (like wine grapes or apples). Because it's made from grain alcohol, it doesn't have any flavor, unlike vinegars such as balsamic vinegar (grapes) or apple cider vinegar (apples). Distilled white vinegar is used for an assertive but neutral vinegar flavor.
One reason distilled white vinegar is more affordable than other types of vinegar is that it's made from acetic acid produced during a fast fermentation process, instead of acetic acid that forms naturally during a longer, slower fermentation process.
White wine vinegar, made from white wine grapes, is more expensive than regular white vinegar. Some might say it has "more complex" flavors and I find it to be slightly milder and less acidic than distilled vinegar.
If you try this recipe for Rice Noodles with Shrimp please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how the recipe turned out in the 📝 comments section below. I love hearing from readers!
More Shrimp Recipes
📖 Recipe
Rice Noodles with Shrimp
Rice noodles are stir-fried with shrimp, scrambled egg and a sweet, salty and tangy sauce for Pad Thai lovers. Making this quick 30-minute recipe for rice noodles with shrimp is easier than picking up take-out!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- Category: Quick and Easy Recipes
- Method: Stir-fry
- Cuisine: Asian American
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 3 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
- 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (or sunflower/canola oil)
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and patted dry with paper towels
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1 lime, to squeeze over shrimp
- Chopped green onion, for garnish
- Sunflower or canola oil to stir-fry shrimp and egg
- Optional: chili garlic sauce or Sambal Oelek for spiciness
Instructions
Step 1: Soak the rice noodles
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add the rice noodles, swirling the noodles around briefly to separate. Let the noodles soak for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to separate the noodles, until just tender but still slightly firm and chewy, "al dente." Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Shake excess water from the noodles and set them aside.
Step 2: Make the Sauced Rice Noodles with Shrimp and Egg
- Whisk together the sauce: distilled white vinegar, sugar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, soy sauce and sesame oil. Whisk again a few minutes later, to make sure the sugar is dissolving.
- Heat a wok or wide non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the sauce to the hot wok (whisk the sauce before adding, as sugar might settle on the bottom of the bowl). Let the sauce come to simmer.
- When the sauce is bubbling at a simmer, add the rice noodles. Toss the noodles really well with tongs so the noodles are completely covered in sauce and cook the noodles and sauce for about 1 minute until the noodles absorb the sauce and are warm. Transfer the noodles to a large a serving bowl.
- Add a drizzle of oil to the wok. Add the shrimp and let them cook without stirring for 1 minute. Shake the skillet vigorously and/or use a spatula to flip the shrimp. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more until no longer pink. Squeeze lime juice over the shrimp. Transfer the shrimp to the bowl with the noodles.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add another drizzle of oil. Pour the whisked eggs into the wok and gently scramble. Once the egg is mostly cooked but still soft, mix it into the noodles.
- Garnish the rice noodles and shrimp with green onion and serve. Add a dab of chili garlic sauce or Sambal Oelek for spiciness.
Notes
This recipe comes together very quickly on the stove. It's important that you have all of your ingredients lined up and ready to add to the hot pan. You should have five bowls of prepped ingredients ready to go before turning on the burner: soaked and rinsed rice noodles, whisked sauce, shrimp patted dry, whisked eggs and chopped green onion.
For this recipe, it's important to rinse the noodles under cold water. Cold water stops the cooking process and washes away excess starch, which prevents rice noodles from having a sticky, glue-like texture.
The rice noodles I use for this recipe are the often labeled as "Pad Thai" noodles or "Stir-fry Rice Noodles" and the width is about ¼-inch. The brands I see most often in grocery stores are "Annie Chun's" and "Thai Kitchen."
I use 12 ounces of dried rice noodles for this recipe because it's the right amount for the sauce. You can make this recipe with slightly less noodles or slightly more, but 12 ounces really is just right.
Amy says
Wow! Really good. It was very tasty. I replaced the aminos which I did not have on hand with an equivalent amount of fish sauce which worked well.
Jenny says
Glad you liked it! It's good to know that fish sauce can be substituted.
Jamie says
I love the sauce that's added to these noodles! It gives it so much flavor and goes well with the shrimp.
Kushigalu says
Love the combination of ingredients in this noodles recipe. SO flavorful and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Jenny says
Glad you like it!
Dionne says
Fantastic rice noodle option. Exactly what I like to make over the weekend. So yum!
Tavo says
Delicious, fast and, easy! My kind of recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Claudia Lamascolo says
WE are huge shrimp fans and this is the perfect blend of flavors with rice pasta for us!