Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry with Basil

By Courtneysims @courtneynora

I could eat a stir fry every day for lunch. You can change one thing in the recipe and the whole meal changes. For this recipe, I had some leftover fresh basil from a lasagna recipe I made on Sunday. When we lived in Chicago, my fiance Ben loved this Thai basil stir fry from a place on the corner by our train stop. Since I ate leftover lasagna for a couple days, I needed something different to use up the rest of the basil. This stir fry is quick to whip up in the middle of the day and the perfect way to use up that extra basil!

Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe:

About 4 oz. dried rice noodles (my bag was 16 oz. and I used 1/4 of the bag)
10-15 large frozen pre-cooked shrimp – peeled/tail off
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger – minced
1 large clove garlic – minced
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons Sriracha
Stir-fry vegetables
Fresh basil leaves

First, you’ll want to get your rice noodles soaking. You’ll have to soak them in hot water for about 25 minutes, until they’re ALMOST done. You’ll cook them a little more in your sauce, so don’t over soak.

While those are soaking, it’s a perfect time to thaw out your frozen shrimp in cold tap water.

When your noodles are about 10 minutes from being done, heat up your coconut oil on medium heat in a skillet. Coconut oil starts out fairly solid and then melts when it heats up. You can also use vegetable oil.

Add your veggies.

While your veggies cook, mince your garlic and ginger. I use a little grater that I got for Christmas a couple years ago and it works perfectly!

Add your soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, water and sesame oil in a small dish and whisk to combine.

Check your pasta, it should be softened, but when you take a bite it should seem “almost done”. You’ll finish cooking it in the stir fry!

Once your veggies are warmed through, add your pasta.

Pour your sauce over everything, it will be soupy at first.

Still on medium heat, let the sauce thicken and get bubbly. Then add your shrimp just to warm through.

You’ll know everything is done when your noodles turn a brown color and everything is warm and cooked through – about 5 minutes.

Toss in your fresh basil.

Pile it high and enjoy!