I love Thai flavors. This dish was born when I wanted Bang Bang Shrimp at home. Several of the recipes I found were very long and involving. As a mom of 5 kids, I needed something much faster.
Shrimp
Frozen: Yes, you can use frozen shrimp for this dish. You must thaw it first to avoid having a watered down sauce. Buying frozen, cooked, deveined shrimp with the tail off will save you tons of time and make this a very quick meal to make.
Frozen: You can also use frozen uncooked shrimp with the tail off and deveined if you prefer. Just cook your shrimp until it is pink all around.
Raw: Yes, you can use raw shrimp. You will need to remove the vein and tail before cooking. I suppose if you plan on being super fancy for dinner, you can leave the tails on. I just find removing the tails from my dinner a bit annoying if it’s not shrimp scampi.
Pasta
You really can use whatever pasta you’d like. My crew prefers fettuccine pasta, but I have used bow tie and spaghetti when that’s what’s in the pantry already. I cook my pasta just past al dente because my crew doesn’t like crunchy pasta. But you cook your noodles to your preference.
Mayonnaise, really??
Yes. Mayo is just eggs and oil. You do need fat in your diet to feed your brain and mayo is a great option for doing that. Fats also help your body absorb nutrients and vitamins better. This is a fact, look it up. You can opt for a low fat or fat free version.
One Pan Bang Bang Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients
For Dish
- 1 pound pasta of choice
- 16 oz frozen shrimp, tail off & deveined or you can use raw, uncooked, remove tail and devein
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp dry parsley
For Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sweet Thai chili sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 limes juiced
- 2 Tbsp Sambal Oelek, or Sriracha omit if you don't like spicy
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper omit if you don't like spicy
Instructions
- In your stock pot, half fill with water, salt the water well, bring to a boil, and boil your noodles to desired softness. If you cover your water, it will boil faster.1 pound pasta of choice
- While water and noodles boil, prep the sauce. Dump mayo, Thai chili sauce, minced garlic, lime juice, Sambal Oelek/Sriracha, and crushed red pepper. Whisk together and let marinate.1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup sweet Thai chili sauce, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 2 limes juiced, 2 Tbsp Sambal Oelek, or Sriracha, 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- Shrimp: If using frozen shrimp, pour into colander/strainer and run cold water over shrimp to gently thaw them, season with paprika and parsley. We want to strain the water our of the shrimp. If using raw, uncooked shrimp, peel and devein the shrimp, place in a bowl and season with paprika and parsley.16 oz frozen shrimp, tail off & deveined, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 3 tsp paprika, 1 Tbsp dry parsley
- Once pasta is cooked, strain into a colander/strainer and rock back an forth to drain all water.
- If using raw shrimp: place seasoned raw shrimp, 3 cloves garlic, and a splash of oil into your stock pot and cook shrimp over medium heat till pink. Once shrimp is cooked, pour the strained pasta and sauce over shrimp. Using low heat, bring the dish together, stirring occasionally. Enjoy!
- If using cooked shrimp: pour drained pasta back into your stock pot, and pour thawed, frozen shrimp into the warm pasta. Next, pour your sauce over shrimp and pasta. Use low heat to bring the dish fully together while stirring occasionally. Enjoy!