Thai Shrimp With Emerald Noodles

Brookelynne26's Note:

Recipe Source: Without Reservations by Joey Altman This dish is beautiful. The emerald sauce is like an Asian pesto and the noodles will taste best at room temperature. For a bit more color, thinly sliced red peppers and carrot can be added to noodles. The author of the recipe recommends grilling the shrimp with shell on for more flavor, so that's how I've written it, but feel free to use peeled shrimp if you think that's easier.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 0 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Emerald Sauce

• 1/2 cup peanut oil or 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh ginger
• 6 small garlic cloves
• 3 jalapeno peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup packed cilantro
• 1/2 cup packed fresh mint, stems removed
• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaf (use Thai basil if you can find it)
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (divided)
• 12 ounces capellini, cooked according to package directions

For the Shrimp

• 36 large shell on shrimp (about 2 lbs.)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 serrano chilies, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Make the Emerald Sauce: Put all the the ingredients, except 1/4 cup of the peanuts, in a food processor or blender and pulse until the mixture is quite smooth. Stop occasionally to scrape the sides of bowl. Add the remaining peanuts and pulse just a few times to roughly chop and leave a little crunch to the sauce. Toss with noodles.
2. Use immediately, or refrigerate up to 2 days.
3. For the Shrimp: Preheat grill to medium hot. Use a serrated knife to to cut shrimp lengthwise along the back of the shell, stopping short of cutting all the way through, and devein. This will make shells pop off for easy eating.
4. Put shrimp in a large bowl and add 1/4 cup mint, 1/4 cup cilantro, basil, chilies, olive oil, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, sugar, and salt. Toss well to coat.
5. Thread 3 shrimp onto each skewer through the head and tail end.
6. Grill shrimp over medium-hot heat until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
7. Use a fork to spiral noodles into a nest on the plate and crisscross 2 skewers on top. Garnish with remaining mint and cilantro.