I’ve wanted to do a series on Dragon Noodle variations for a while. The wildly popular original Dragon Noodle recipe is so simple that it’s the perfect jumping off point for several interpretations. You’ve all chimed in with your own favorite ways to personalize the recipe, so I thought I’d bring some of those ideas to life and give direction to those who are not ready to experiment on their own. First up, Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles! 👏👏👏 (that’s the crowd applauding, btw)
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This version is a great demonstration of three ways to customize the original recipe: switch out the protein, use a different type of noodle, and add to the sauce. So, I used shrimp for protein instead of egg this time around. While shrimp are just as easy to cook as eggs, they can be a little more expensive, so I also switched out my favorite wide lo mein noodles for a less expensive ramen (because once they get drenched in that spicy sweet sauce, who cares what kind of noodle it is, gnome sayin’??). Finally, I added some fresh lime juice to the sauce (and served it with wedges for squeezing over the noodles) to add freshness and help highlight the seafood flavor.
Can I Use a Different Type of Noodle?
Yep! I’ve made variations of my Dragon Noodles many types of noodles. My favorite are the wide lo mein noodles, but these inexpensive ramen noodles also work well. If you’re in a pinch you can even use regular pasta, although lighter egg noodles will probably be a better fit (and are also inexpensive).
Do I Have to Use Shrimp?
Nope. The original Dragon Noodle recipe uses scrambled eggs and I think that would work just as well here, and cut the cost even further.
How Spicy Are Dragon Noodles?
Dragon Noodles are VERY SPICY. They’re for spicy food lovers. If you want to lighten up the heat just a bit you can opt for half the amount of sriracha. If you want to make something like this with absolutely no heat, I suggest trying my Garlic Noodles recipe instead.
Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles
Servings 2 to 4 servingsIngredients
- 1/2 lb frozen peeled & deveined shrimp (51/70 size) ($3.00)
- 2 packs (3 oz. each) ramen noodles ($0.50)
- 2 Tbsp sriracha ( $0.18)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1 lime ($0.50)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.18)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 green onions ($0.17)
- Handful fresh cilantro ($0.10)
Instructions
- Place the shrimp in a colander and rinse with cool water until thawed. Let the shrimp drain until ready to use.
- In a small bowl stir together the sriracha, soy sauce, brown sugar, and about 1 Tbsp juice from the lime. Set the sauce aside.
- Fill a medium sauce pot with water, place a lid on top, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the ramen noodles (without the flavoring packet) and continue to boil until the noodles are tender. Drain the noodles in a colander (if using the same colander for the shrimp, make sure to wash it with soap and water first).
- While waiting for the water to boil, mince two cloves of garlic. Add the butter and garlic to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat until the garlic is soft (about one minute). Add the shrimp and continue to sauté until the shrimp turn pink and opaque (about 3-5 minutes). Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Once the noodles have drained, add them to the skillet with the shrimp, then pour the prepared sauce over top. Toss the noodles in the sauce until everything is coated in sauce. Top the dragon noodles with sliced green onion, fresh cilantro leaves, and a squeeze of lime.
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How to Make Lime Shrimp Dragon Noodles – Step by Step Photos
Defrost 1/2 lb. of frozen peeled and deveined shrimp. They defrost quickly if you place them in a colander and run cool water over them. Let them drain until you’re ready to use them. I used 51/70 size, which I found to be just right for the noodles. “51/70” means there are on average between 51 and 70 shrimp per pound.
Next, prepare the Dragon Noodle dressing so it will be ready to go when you need it. In a small bowl stir together 2 Tbsp sriracha, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and about 1 Tbsp of lime juice. Save the rest of the lime to serve as wedges with the meal.
Bring a medium sauce pot full of water to a boil, then add two packages of ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet). Boil the noodles until tender, then drain in a colander. If you use the same colander to drain the noodles as you used to rinse the shrimp, make sure to wash it out with soap and hot water first.
While you’re waiting for the water to boil, you can continue preparing the shrimp. Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to a large skillet along with 2 Tbsp butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat for about a minute, or just until it softens a bit and gets really fragrant, but doesn’t brown.
Then add the thawed and drained shrimp and continue to sauté until they turn pink and opaque. Shrimp cook really quickly, so this should only take a few minutes. If you continue to cook them, they will shrink and become very tough, so remove the skillet from the heat at this point.
Finally, add the cooked and drained noodles to the skillet and pour the sauce over top. Toss the noodles in the sauce until everything is coated.
Slice up a couple of green onions and pull a handful of cilantro leaves from the stems.
Sprinkle the green onions and cilantro over the noodles. Cut the remaining lime into wedges to serve with the noodles.
#dragonnoodlelove
I added a tbs of peanut butter and a dollop of chili crisp and it’s incredible! In fact I’m going back to the store to get the stuff to make it again tomorrow.
Great recipe! Added chopped bok choy.and potstickers!
I have made this, and it’s very good and easy. In the past, I also enjoyed making just the dragon noodles as a stand-alone. There was a simple recipe for noodles with dragon sauce that I can no longer find. Is it just sriracha, soy sauce and brown sugar? Thanks!
It’s an archived recipe! I’ll email it to you now!
I made this for dinner and it was so good! I adjusted the sauce ratio a bit – 3 Tbs soy sauce, 3 Tbs brown sugar, 1 Tbs chili paste (sambal oelek) and kept the lime juice the same. It was the perfect amount of spiciness for me. Will definitely be making this again and plan to try it with other proteins.
I usually make this with shrimp or Spam, but have since gone mostly pescatarian. I’ve already done all my seafood and tofu for the week and am curious about your mention of scrambled eggs. If willing, can you share tips on adding eggs for this? Thanks as always.
Delicious and easy. My first time ever cooking shrimp- mine were a little larger just seared for full 5 min. I would add peanut butter to sauce next time and some sliced mushrooms, water chestnuts, snap peas (cooked separately before adding) maybe some broccoli also for veg!
This was super easy, inexpensive, and delicious! I can’t wait to have it again, everyone loved it.
Trying to save more money these days and this was a nice tasty lunch!
Delicious! I put less sriracha and add some veggies, depends on what I have at the moment (peas, edamames, spinach, brocoli, zucchini). Always good! Quick and easy :)
This was really good and super simple! Here are the changes I made:
1) didn’t have lime, so used 2 T of ponzu sauce instead of soy 2) added half a red onion because I had it on hand, along with 2 stalks of celery 3) added red chili flakes 4) reduced sugar to just 1 T 5) Used lo mein noodles. This was a very solid 2 servings, for me. Will make it again soon!
6) I also used cooked, tail-off shrimp, as that’s what I had on hand.
Huge Budget Bytes lover here but not a fan of this recipe at all. I almost never eat shrimp but I ended up with some and gave this recipe a try to use them up. I made a couple “improvements” to my tastes and still did not enjoy—swapped sriracha for chili garlic sauce and used stir fry rice noodles instead of ramen. I found the recipe one dimensional and almost one color. Not much texture and virtually flavorless except for the heat (though I wouldn’t call it “extremely spicy”—even fed it to a two-year-old who ate it with no issues, though I guess we’re a big spicy food eating family). I realized upfront that it didn’t have the vegetables I normally try to include in meals for health, but I didn’t realize how much I’d miss them for flavor and texture too. Health wise, I find there’s also too much salt and sugar for my dietary needs and no real nutritional benefits except the shrimp. I wish I had seen the comments first about adding broccoli, snow peas, or other vegetables. Anyway, this recipe is not for me, but I’d suggest adding vegetables.
Fantastic recipe. Add a tablespoon or so of peanut butter and it makes a fantastic, easy pad thai!
This was a delicious way to jazz up cheap ramen. It was in dire need of some veggies though, so I threw some julienned carrots and a diced up radish in with the noodles to soften them up since I was using leftover already cooked shrimp. I added a dash of McCormick chipotle chili powder for a nice smoky element to it. Next time I might cut the siracha by half though cause I’m not used to so much heat.
Very quick and very yummy. This is a flavorful and easy meal. Thanks!
This is my favorite of the dragon noodle versions, and a frequent go to lunch or dinner. Even better is that my picky kids love it too (with the Sriracha level toned down). I could eat it every day!