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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
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
Great recipe! This won the heart of my anti-seafood husband and our 2-year-old devoured the shrimp. (I knew the noodles would be too spicy for a toddler) We will definitely be making this recipe, and variations on it, regularly.
Apologies, this entire comment is just me venting about the price of shrimp in my area.
Ughhh, are you saying you can get a whole pound of shrimp for $6?! I went to my grocery store last night and every last shrimp option was terrible. I had to choose between the too-big ones, shell-on, not deveined, or the size I wanted, shelled and deveined, in a 3/4 bag for $9.99– and those were “on sale”!! I hate California food prices.
Can’t wait to try this recipe, though!
Yeah I’m in NYC and I just paid $13 for a 1lb bag.
Regardless, love the blog.
This sounds even better than the original recipe , it’ll be on the table this week. I love all your recipes, having tried several, and they’re all easy and delicious.
This is great! This has entered our family’s rotation for quick&easy meals. Also, I have brought it to work, as follows:
I stock my office with ramen noodle packs, and in the break room freezer keep mixed veg and a ziploc of precut basil. I use this for making better-than-ramen.
But now I filled an empty sriracha bottle with pre-mixed dragon noodle sauce, steep noodles+veg+basil in hot water until soft, strain, mix with dragon sauce, and YUM!
Not as sumptuous as the full version with butter & egg, but still tasty. I bet the same principle would work with pad thai sauce, which is similarly equal parts sugar, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar (plus some tamarind).
Even better hack: the bowls I use at work are plastic with matched lids, they came with high-end noodle soups from an asian grocery. I strain by cracking the lid just a little and pouring carefully. I will take one lid home and drill a bunch of holes in it — realio trulio strainer!
This looks amazing. I love to make my dragon noodle with buckwheat noodles. Then serve with marinated baked tofu and steamed broccoli.
Delicious! Subbed canola oil for the butter. Soba (Japanese buckwheat) noodles turned out to be a little too delicate for this, but braised baby bok choy on the side was a perfect accompaniment.
This is great, just like every recipe of yours I have tried. I did use half soy sauce and half fish sauce instead, and also threw in some (thawed) frozen broccoli while I cooked the shrimp. Making this again tonight (third day in a row!) and going to try adding some diced ginger with the garlic, and sauteeing some sliced baby portabellas with the shrimp
Going to give it a try I like shrimps going to make it with rice though.
The limes are missing from the ingredient list / cost calculations
It’s in the list, right between brown sugar and butter… 1 lime $0.50 :)
I made this but subbed eggs, spinach and peas for shrimp— delicious! Also I went light on the srirach for the kids. They loved it!
Wonderful recipe as usual on Budget Bytes. Will be making again in the future.
I made this last night with crispy tofu instead of shrimp, and I added chopped carrots and sugar snap peas because I had them in the fridge. It was so tasty and a great combination of textures – plus so budget friendly! will definitely make it again.
I love that I can come to this blog with ingredients in mind and always seem to find a recipe to match them! Okay so 99% of the ingredients (I don’t have limes, but I do have lemons!) This is what’s for dinner tonight! Yummmm
Beth,
I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog. Since the original Dragon Noodle recipe was the first one I looked at when I initially found your blog, I decided to post on this variation of it. I love your writing, and your recipes are top-notch. I like reading even the ones I may not plan to make anytime soon. You do great photography and food staging. The finished product always looks great. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!! :D
I’m addicted. I immediately went home and made this for dinner, minus the lime and cilantro because I didn’t have it, plus some colored bell pepper slices I had leftover from a veggie tray. Soooooo good!!!! I liked the sauce so much, last night I gave my husband and daughter pizza and then sautéed up the rest of the frozen shrimp, pepper and onions and mixed it into rice with the sauce. nom, nom, nom – my mouth is watering just thinking about this….