Delicious, Asian-inspired Shrimp en Papillote, with shrimp, bok choy and noodles, cooked in parchment paper packets.
Truth be told, I could have taken all the ingredients in this dish and thrown them in my wok for a stir fry, but there’s something to be said for doing things differently once in a while and cooking things up in their own little parchment packets (“en papillote”) falls in to that category.
This is a quick dinner, but it’s special at the same time. Delicious and perfect for a “dinner for two”. That said, if it’s not just two of you, you can easily double this recipe to serve more.
Cook’s Notes for Shrimp en Papillote
There’s a bit of loose-ness to this recipe. You can use whatever kind of noodle you like or have on hand, as much or as little as you like. The size and quantity of shrimp used is also pretty much up to you. As long as it all fits in the packets :)
You could make this dish with cooked shrimp, simply reduce the oven time down to about 10 minutes.
Many grocery stores sell parchment cooking pouches, which would work great for this dish and make it even easier to put together!
Shrimp, Bok Choy and Noodles en Papillote
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 heaping tsp. Sambal Oelek or 2 tsp. Asian chili garlic sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp. fresh ginger minced
To assemble:
- 16-20 raw shrimp peeled and deveined (# depends on size of shrimp)
- 6 baby bok choy thick end trimmed, rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, white and light green part only
- Asian noodles of your choice soaked or cooked as per package instructions, drained and cooled slightly (I used 3-minute chow mein noodles, that I boiled first)
- Chopped fresh cilantro parsley or pea shoots, for garnish
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 F. If making only two, leave rack in center of oven. If doubling to make four, place a rack in the top and bottom 1/3 of the oven and use two baking sheets, rotating their position half way through baking.
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Cook or soak noodles (enough for 2 servings), as per package instructions. Drain and allow to cool a bit. Tip: To quickly cook a small amount of noodles, boil a couple of inches of water in a large, deep skillet instead of a pot. It comes to a boil much more quickly and is enough water for a small amount of noodles.
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Meanwhile, prepare sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mixing well.
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Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Place bok choy in another medium bowl. Finally, place slightly cooled noodles in a 3rd medium bowl. Divide the sauce evenly between the 3 bowls and toss each to coat. Allow to sit while you prepare your parchment.
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Cut two 15x24-inch pieces of parchment paper. Fold each one in half to make 15x12-inch pieces. With the fold perpendicular to you and on the right side, use a pen to draw half a heart, starting from the bottom of the folded side, up and back to the folded edge 3 or 4 inches from the top. Repeat with the other sheet of parchment. Use scissors to cut along pen line and open up (the fold is the centre of your heart). Brush the inside with vegetable oil, leaving a couple inches around the outside bare.
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Prepare your packets by placing a pile of noodles on one side of the heart (in a line, close to the fold). Top with half of the bok choy and then half the shrimp. Repeat with the other parchment piece. Top each with the green onion, then divide any remaining sauce evenly over-top each pile. Seal up the packets - Fold the empty half of the heart to meet the other side evenly. starting at the top of the folded edge, start pleating and pinching and pressing down to seal, as you work your way around the edges. When you get to the bottom, twist the bottom point together.
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Place the packets on to a baking sheet (it's ok if twisted the end of the parchment hangs off). Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp (longer for large shrimp). Packets should be a bit puffy. Open one slightly to make sure the shrimp are done (nice and pink). If not, re-seal and return to the oven for a few more minutes.
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To serve, make a slice with a sharp knife, then use kitchen scissors to cut a slit from top to bottom, and then small slits to each side in the middle so you can fold it open. Garnish with chopped cilantro, parsley or pea shoots. Serve with a lime slice for drizzling, if you like.
My husband loves Sambal Oelek and could put it on or in anything! What a wonderful, simple but flavorful meal. I have not tried cooking in parchment but have had many camping meals in foil pouches. Not the same thing I’m sure but anything with loads of flavor and easy clean up in perfect in my book!
Thanks Tricia and I imagine it’s a lot the same as cooking in foil. It’s a nice way to cook. As it’s a gentle cooking method. Perfect for shrimp.
I love this Asian inspired dish, and what a perfect meal for spring as we’re starting to crave lighter meals.
Thanks Laura and yes, I think I’m all stewed and souped out :)
I love everything about this Jennifer — I just want to sit right down and open up my own steaming packet of goodness…what a lovely idea for a ‘date night at home’ :)
Thanks Sue and yes, it’s a great date night meal!
This one is so impressive Jennifer! A perfect dish to serve up for friends this summer! Sounds so light and delicious!
Thanks Mary Ann and yes, it’s perfect for summer. And so customizable to all kinds of ingredients.
What a fun and creative entree! I love the fusion Asian-French concept you have going on here. Great job on this one! :)
Thanks Sarah :)
What a great way to make an ordinary day special. I love how versatile this is too!
Thanks Chris :)
I agree, there is something special about en papillote! The taste is wonderful, but the presentation is where it’s at… it’s like giving yourself a small delicious gift with the wrapping. This dish looks perfect, Jennifer! Love the ingredients and flavors! Perfect for a romantic meal for 2 at home! Cheers!
Thanks Cheyanne and yes, it is like a little gift :) Love that!
Bok choy is my new favorite ingredient, I can’t get enough of it! This looks amazing as always, love the flavor combination.
Thanks Sara. We eat a lot of bok choy here, as well. So easy to cook and full of green goodness :)
Lovely recipes, Jennifer. Thank you and have a Great Day!
Thanks so much, Liz. You too!
Recently made this dish for a birthday supper. It was very tasty in spite of our mistakes. We did a package of soba noodles and divided it among two parchment bags. Good concept but way too many noodles for two bags! The bok choy (which we love) was much bigger than our usual purchases and no adjustment was made – again, our mistake! Fortunately, we made 1.5 times the sauce.
Not sure where the green onions were supposed to go so they were used as a topping.
Think your method with the parchment was superior to the bags. Since we have bags leftover, we will cook the noodles separately. Think you could use salmon and spinach?
Very creative dish!
Glad you enjoyed it despite all that :) And yes, the packets won’t fit too many noodles. I think salmon and spinach would be lovely!
Shannon Ables from The Simply Luxurious Life sent me over here and wow! what a great dinner! We felt like we were in a nice restaurant–we were, at our own home! Thank you so much for this goodness :)
So glad you enjoyed it and I know what you mean. There’s just something so special about dinner in parchment :)
What a delicious meal for a spring evening. I incorporated snap peas instead of bok chop as that is what I had in the fridge. Sautéed some mushrooms and added once removed from the oven. Reminded me of a dinner we had in Aruba.
Sounds perfect! These dishes are so adapted to all kinds of ingredients and flavours :)