This steamed shrimp recipe is inspired by a dish we had at a restaurant down the street called Ku Xia (translation: “Cool Shrimp”).
The restaurant serves a duo of shrimp dishes—one with garlic, and one with cilantro and green chilies. They steam the shrimp in a flavorful sauce, with glass noodles at the bottom, and it’s really a great combination of flavors. We figured we’d do something similar!
Live, fresh shrimp are quite common in Asia and even the inland location of Beijing is no exception.
You can find live shrimp in Asian grocery stores in the U.S. as well, in any location that has a seafood department.
However, I am happy to report that the first few runs of these recipes during the development process were done with fresh frozen shrimp, and they worked as well. It certainly made the prep process easier.
Heck, just ask Sarah. She was trying to photograph the shrimp, a couple of which were still pretty lively and jumping off the table. She nearly fell off the chair she was standing on!
Anyways, the point is: if you’re a bit squeamish or have little experience with live seafood, just head to the freezer section and you’ll be fine!
Recipe Instructions
Split the shrimp in half to the tail, leaving the tail whole. Soak the mung bean glass noodles in warm water for 20 minutes and drain.
For the garlic version, put the minced garlic into a bowl of hot water for a minute and strain. This takes some of the edge off of the garlic, and makes it sweeter once steamed. Combine the strained garlic with another 1/4 cup fresh water, sugar, light soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine.
For the cilantro green chili version, pound the minced green chilies and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a mortar and pestle. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then mix in the cilantro, sugar, water, light soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine.
Spread out the glass noodles in two shallow, heat-safe bowls. Fan out equal amounts of shrimp on each plate. Spoon the prepared sauces evenly over each of the shrimp dishes.
Boil water in a steamer or wok with a steamer rack and place the dishes inside. See our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming foods in Chinese cooking.
Cover immediately and steam for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. The shrimp should be opaque and but not over-cooked. Keep a close eye on it, and adjust the steaming time according to the size of your shrimp.
Once you take the shrimp out, spoon the liquid over the shrimp and serve immediately.
The glass noodles will soak up the excess sauce. Enjoy!
Steamed Shrimp with Glass Noodles – Two Ways
Ingredients
For the garlic version:
- 12 oz. shrimp (340g, cleaned)
- 1 bundle mung bean glass noodles
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced or grated)
- 1/4 cup water (plus more, to soak the garlic)
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
For the cilantro and green chili version:
- 12 oz. shrimp (340g, cleaned)
- 1 bundle mung bean glass noodles
- 1 tablespoon minced green chilies
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Instructions
- Split the shrimp in half to the tail, leaving the tail whole. Soak the glass noodles in warm water for 20 minutes and drain.
- For the garlic version, put the minced garlic into a bowl of hot water for a minute and strain. This takes some of the edge off of the garlic, and makes it sweeter once steamed. Combine the strained garlic with another 1/4 cup fresh water, sugar, light soy, and shaoxing wine.
- For the cilantro green chili version, pound the minced green chilies and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a mortar and pestle. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then mix in the cilantro, sugar, water, light soy, and shaoxing wine.
- Spread out the glass noodles in two shallow, heat-safe bowls. Fan out equal amounts of shrimp on each plate. Spoon the prepared sauces evenly over each of the shrimp dishes.
- Boil water in a steamer or wok with a steamer rack and place the dishes inside. Cover immediately and steam for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. The shrimp should be opaque and but not over-cooked. Keep a close eye on it, and adjust the steaming time according to the size of your shrimp.
- Once you take the shrimp out, spoon the liquid over the shrimp and serve immediately.
Hello! I look forward to trying this over the weekend.
What do you do with regards to shells? Are the shrimps peeled down to the tail before you slice them?
How do you cut the shrimp and split them if the shells stay on?
Or if you leave the shells on do you take anything off before steaming, eg the legs?
Hi Max, please leave the shells on to keep the shrimp moist. Please check out this post (https://thewoksoflife.com/2015/07/salt-and-pepper-shrimp/) for step-by-step shrimp cleaning instructions, but for this recipe, you have to “Split the shrimp in half to the tail, leaving the tail whole.”
Only made the cilantro green chilli version and it was amazing!!! Love the freshness and heat at the same time! The glasd noodles soaking up tgethe sauce was just out of this world! Yum yum yum!!
Good Choice Jackie! The garlic version is more common but the cilantro green chilli version is my favorite too!
I’ve had a steamer for over a year now and have yet to use it – I may need to make this dish to christen it! :D
Do ittttt!!!
OMG this looks awesome! My husband would LOVE this!!! I am soooo pinning and sharing this! Thank you so much for linking with us at #foodiefridays!!! We look forward to see what you are cooking up this week!
Thanks Mila!
I love shrimps and these ones are right up my alley! Again, thanks for coming and linking up at The Weekend Social. All posts get pinned on our pinterest board! Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST on culinaryflavors.gr! I hope to see you there!
Stunning indeed! I look forward to try this dish, with frozen shrimp, since we are very much landlocked.
Let us know how it goes, Julia! :)
I immediately said WOW when I saw this in my inbox – its is absolutely stunning photography! (looks delicious, too)
Thanks, Francesca! Hope you try it!
Boy do they look good. Can’t wait to try
Thanks Rie!
This looks delicious Bill!
I love that you used glass noodles too – yum!
Millie, you have to try this – it’s really awesome
That looks gorgeous! I love glass noodles, they are just perfect for soups and such things. :)
Thanks Baby June! Glass noodles are a favorite in our house! They soak up sauce very nicely!