Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp With Cabbage “Noodles”
Looking to cut back on carbs and eat more vegetables? This quick and easy Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp with Cabbage “Noodles” cooks in under 30 minutes, making it the perfect recipe to add to your menu planning.
If 2013 was my worst year ever with Murray passing away, then 2014 was my year of change.
It’s hard to believe how emotionally drained I was this time last year.
I knew that I’d be moving back to Pittsburgh come hell or high water but never expected to actually quit my job and become a full time blogger.
It’s only been 6 months, but it feels like my previous job was eons ago. I’ve become bolder. I’ve become stronger. I’ve become more driven.
I finally have a clear version of my goals, both short term and (more importantly) long term. I never took goal setting seriously before now.
Sure, I had hopes and dreams but had never actually written them down on paper. I never set a deadline or steps on how to get there.
I thought I knew what I wanted, but it’s amazing how your perspective shifts when your goals are written right in front of you.
There’s a quote I saved on my Pinterest quotes board: “Sometimes on the way to the dream, you get lost and find a better one.” I couldn’t agree more.
Speaking of goal setting, last year I talked about incorporating more vegetables and improving my menu planning skills.
I was actually doing pretty well, planning out two weeks’ worth of meals and grocery shopping every other weekend.
It faltered a little when I moved but then I got back on track. Until the holidays started.
My workload increased, which means on days where I’m shooting cookies and cakes, I want to cook something quick and effortless for dinner.
Unfortunately I turned to frozen pizza a little too often (which I’m still trying to find a favorite – any suggestions?). Time to take back menu planning.
One dish I make probably every other week that is both quick and vegetable heavy is this Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp with Cabbage “Noodles”, a clever dish that replaces the carbs from regular noodles with a healthier vegetable option.
I can’t quite say the overall dish is healthy as the sauce does have peanut butter and sweet chili sauce, but it is certainly one step closer to getting back on track for 2015.
I originally called this Pad Thai Shrimp as the recipe I adapted it from also called it Pad Thai.
However, after some research, I discovered this is nowhere near Pad Thai as it doesn’t have tamarind paste nor fish sauce (along with a few other authentic ingredients).
I’m not sure where the disconnect occurred – maybe it’s equivalent to us Americanizing Chinese food where real Chinese cuisine involves chicken feet and fish heads.
As much as I love tamarinds and fish, I’m convinced this Thai sweet chili and peanut butter sauce is much better tasting anyway.
If you really want to get technical, this is shrimp served over sautéed cabbage and carrots. However, it’s more fun to say cabbage noodles.
I was trying to think of a clever term mashing the two words together, kinda like zoodles is zucchini noodles, but I’m sure coodles isn’t quite as appetizing. Would you like some coodles with your shrimp?
There’s also caboodles, but kaboodle is a type of cat food. Trust me – cats don’t like cabbage. They do like shrimp, however.
What I love best about this recipe is that you can customize it. Mushrooms, carrots, snow peas, bean sprouts, bell peppers, whatever you have on hand, you can throw in.
It’s a great way to clean out your produce drawers.
You can even use chicken instead of shrimp, but you’ll need to cook that a little longer.
Not sure how to cut cabbage? Check out my handy step by step guide on how to cut cabbage.
More Shrimp Recipes
Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp With Cabbage "Noodles"
Looking to cut back on carbs and eat more vegetables? This quick and easy Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp with Cabbage “Noodles” cooks in under 30 minutes, making it the perfect recipe to add to your menu planning.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow or white onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into coins (bigger coins cut in half)
- 4 small button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 pound green cabbage (roughly half of a small head), cut into 1/2-inch thick strips that are 3-4 inches long* (see Note)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
- 12 ounces raw shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined, and patted dry
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large pot. Once hot, add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and a big pinch of salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, or until the cabbage is cooked to your liking (I like mine a bit tender-crisp).
- While the cabbage is cooking, make the sauce: In a small bowl, microwave the peanut butter for 10-15 seconds or until you can stir it easily. Whisk in the soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, lime juice, and ginger.
- Once the cabbage is cooked, add the sauce and shrimp, stirring to combine everything. Cover with a lid and cook 3-5 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked.
Notes
Feel free to customize this recipe with whatever you have on hand: mushrooms, carrots, snow peas, bean sprouts, bell peppers. You can also use chicken instead of shrimp, but you'll need to cook that until no longer pink in the middle.
Source: Inspired by Paint and Tofu
Since you’ll have plenty of raw cabbage leftover, check out my list of leftover cabbage recipes including Stove Top Corned Beef and Cabbage and haluski.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchase.
Thank you for the lovely recipe.
You are quite welcome, Liz!
This sounds so good! I love cabbage and am always looking for new ways to use it :)
Me too. I have my usual cabbage dishes but love switching it up with cabbage noodles.
Way to go Carla that 2014 was a year of change! I think 2015 may be my year of change! I think I need to jump on the vegetable noodle train too!
I wish you the best of luck on your year of change! It’s amazing how much can happen in a year.
I just love that you used cabbage in this recipe. Love that it is different, cheap and so nutrition!
Exactly! When I buy a head of cabbage, I always have tons to use up. Makes me feel good eating cabbage noodles too ;)
this sounds like a delicious addition to my meal rotation
It sure is. Thanks Heather!
I love your comparison of this “Pad Thai” with Americanizing Chinese cuisine. It gave both me and my husband a good laugh. The real Pad Thai doesn’t work without the tamarind or fish sauce (tamarind is one of my very favorite flavors), but peanut sauce is peanut sauce and that’s a whole different animal. This recipe sounds wonderful, and I will be making it – adding it to this week’s menu plan – but with chicken. I hope you have a wonderful 2015.
Ha it’s the only theory that I could come up with. The only time I’ve ever ordered Pad Thai was last week from a street cart in Pittsburgh. Definitely no peanut sauce. I also love tamarinds, so maybe I’ll make it authentically homemade. I might even have fish sauce in the fridge too. Chicken would be a great sub! I’m just a huge shrimp girl myself :) Happy 2015 to you!
I have now tried this recipe and it is spectacular. My husband enjoyed it, too. So it will go into my regular list of recipes to make. Love, love, love the flavor. BTW, I used PB2 because that’s what I had and it worked really well for this, including mixing in easier than real peanut butter.
Glad you both loved it! That’s the great part about the sauce – you can customize it with your favorite peanut butter. Lately I’ve been using Peanut Butter and Co’s The Bee Knees (honey PB) so it give it a little extra sweetness.
Thought you might want to know that the link to the chili sauce doesn’t work. It gave me an ‘errort, page not found’ message.
Fixed! Thanks for letting me know.
I’m so happy that you followed your dream and made such big changes in 2014. I think 2015 will be even more amazing! Also, let’s start a sweet chili sauce fan club. I’m putting it on fish tonight. Mmmmm.
Yes! We can definitely be president and vice president :D
My husband does not want to be in the same room with a head of cabbage let alone actually eat cabbage so I will make this sometime when he is not going to be here for dinner. My Daughter asked me for a recipe for haluska the other day and I knew exactly where to tell her to look since I think it is mainly a Pittsburgh thing. However, my recipe suggested sprinkling bacon bits on top and she is a vegetarian so she just left that out. Your blog remains my favorite.
This recipe would be definitely be great to make when he’s not home since it only makes about 2-3 servings. Great for lunch the next day too. I’m glad you love my haluski recipe! I know some people make it with bacon, and as much as I love bacon, my mom just never cooked that way. Some traditions you just can’t change :)
Thanks for the inspiration, Carla. I’m heading the same route you were before and it’s q huge challenge. This cabbage noodles is so light and delicious!
It was definitely a much needed change, and I have no regrets. Best of luck to you! Maybe 2015 will be your year of change :)
I love the quote. I wrote it down. I intuitively already knew that. But it’s nice to have it said succinctly. I am way older than you and I have seen that in action many times. I have enjoyed following you on your journey. It is fun to look back and realize you amazed yourself.
I am loving this recipe too by the way. The cabbage noodles work for me. I love ethnic food.
But more importantly its going to be fun to see where you end up by the end of next year. Wow!
I seriously need to print out that quote and hang it on my wall! I haven’t given it much thought until recently when I realized if I wasn’t on my old career path, I wouldn’t have found my new one. That’s why I also have no regrets :) And I’m quite excited to see where I end up in 2015 too ;)
I’m a huge Thai Sweet Chili fan, so I know that I will love this recipe! Looks fantastic!
Yes you would! I put sweet chili sauce in anything I can :)
Thanks for this! It was so delicious. My son is allergic to nuts, so I subbed Sunbutter. Yum!
Sunbutter works too! Glad you both enjoyed it :)
This was great! Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes as well. I did end up putting it on the table much quicker than I anticipated. The recipe says 30 prep/20 cook, but at the top of the page, which I didn’t see, it says “under 30 minutes.” Added bonus!!! I can really see prepping everything and then coming from work and BOOM, dinner on the table! Awesome flavors too! Thanks!!!
The prep time took into consideration chopping up the cabbage. The actual cooking is fairly quick, as you noticed. And yes! If you chop the veggies ahead of time, dinner is a breeze during the week. I personally cut up the entire cabbage, portion it into containers, then I’m ready to make dinner.