Crazy Shrimp Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

This recipe was inspired by chef Ming Tsai's cookbook Simply Ming: Easy Techniques for East-Meets-West Meals.

The way to use this cookbook is to look for dishes that call out to you, then work backward to find the "Master Recipe" for the dish. For example, one of the recipes in the book is called Green Curry Chicken Noodle. In this recipe the master ingredients is the Green Curry Paste. In order to make the Green Curry Chicken Noodle you have to make the Green Curry Paste first then start to work on the recipe. I found it very hard and time consuming to make the dishes in this cookbook. I choose to make the Crazy Chicken Rice Noodle Stir-Fry because the master ingredient was Traditional Spicy Sambal (Asian Chili Paste). I already had some ready made chili paste at home. I modified the recipe by replacing the ground chicken with shrimp. You can also use tofu instead of ground chicken.

Ingredients:

8 ounces transparent rice noodles (rice sticks)
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Traditional Spicy Sambal (Asian Chili Paste)
3 tablespoons oil
1 shallot, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 pound ground chicken or shrimp
1/2 cup scallions, green and white parts, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1/4 cup Thai basil leaves cut into 1/8 inch ribbons
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Boil 4 coups of water. When the water starts boiling place the noodles in it until the noodles are tender. Drain and set aside
2. In a small bowl combine the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chili paste, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Heat a wok or large, heavy saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the shallots and stir-fry until brown. Add the shrimp and stir-fry, about 3 minutes. Add the noodles and sauce mixture and heat through, stirring. Add the scallions and basil and toss well. Garnish with the fresh cilantro and serve.