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Spicy Shrimp Peanut Noodles

Spicy peanut noodles make a perfect weeknight dinner!

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Why it works: Shrimp and peanut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 182 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 4
Prep5 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

Contains: wheat, peanut, soy, shellfish, sesame (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the angel hair pasta, and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving a splash of the cooking water.

  2. In a bowl, whisk the chicken stock, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, toasted sesame oil, and red pepper flakes until smooth. Loosen with a splash of the cooking water if too thick.

  3. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and half of the chopped green onions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

  4. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until pink and opaque, reaching 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part.

  5. Pour in the peanut sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the drained noodles and toss for 2 minutes until coated and heated through.

  6. Remove from the heat and top with the cilantro, chopped roasted peanuts, and the remaining green onions. Serve immediately.

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Shrimp + peanuttop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together182 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together29,030 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + chickentop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together10,839 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  4. Garlic + peanuttop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together877 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Chicken + peanuttop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together541 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (canola oil, shrimp, sauce, garlic, chicken, peanut, butter):

  1. Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
  2. Onionthe original
  3. Tomatoabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Capsicumabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against canola oil, shrimp, sauce, garlic, chicken, peanut, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).