Spicy Shrimp Roll Pasta Salad
Pasta salad with shrimp, radish, and cucumber, inspired by the flavors in a spicy shrimp sushi roll. The spicy mayo is so good with pasta! The flavor profile in a spicy shrimp roll lends itself to this pasta salad better than I ever imagined. I couldn’t stop eating it! Next time I am doing a double batch for sure.
The inspiration for this recipe
When I come up with new flavor combos, sometimes it just comes down to one ingredient that ties two dishes together. For this one, it was mayo! Mayo is so common in pasta salads, and is the backbone of most spicy sushi rolls, like spicy tuna, salmon, or shrimp. I almost did this pasta salad with raw tuna to make it a tuna roll version, but in the end I thought some nice cold jump shrimp would actually be an amazing texture in a pasta salad like this.
Cook and dress the pasta first
I treat pasta salad making like I treat any pasta dish – make sure to put some sort of dressing or sauce on the pasta when it is still hot! This is important with pasta because the sauce really absorbs into the freshly cooked noodles. A lot of people skip this step with pasta salad and wait for the pasta to cool before dressing. My tip – find the ingredients that can hold up to the heat of the pasta and put them on first, then let it cool and mix in the rest. I tossed the pasta with some mayo and chili crisp before letting it cool.
Solids and sauces
Once the pasta cools, add the cooked shrimp, cucumber, and radish. Then start saucing it up! Lemon and lime juice, mayo, sriracha, and soy sauce.
Then add mustard, wasabi, sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil.
Important Spicy Shrimp Roll Flavors
Finally add togarachi, sesame seed, and crushed up nori. You could use regular nori, but for this I like to add the already toasted nori snacks. They are so easy to just crush and mix.
Serve the spicy shrimp roll pasta salad
Have some chili flakes and sesame seeds on the side for serving. And a little sesame oil too! This pasta salad had so much flavor and just enough heat!
I will definitely be making the spicy shrimp roll pasta salad for future get togethers. One of my fave pasta salads, and I have made a ton over the years.
Twists on the spicy shrimp roll pasta salad
I mentioned you could do this with raw, or cooked tuna instead of shrimp. I just really liked the texture the shrimp was bringing to the salad. Another thing I almost did was toast some breadcrumbs in butter for a topping. Toasted breadcrumbs of tempura flakes are also common in a spicy shrimp roll. I don’t think it needed it, but it would definitely be a tasty addition.
For a traditional spicy shrimp roll recipe, check this one out!
If you love pasta salad twists, check these out:
Spicy Shrimp Roll Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Cook the pasta and shrimp
- 8 ounces spiral pasta or your favorite shape
- salt
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons chili crisp
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces extra large shrimp peeled, deveined, tail removed.
Mix everything after its cold
- 4 radishes
- 2 small Persian cucumbers
- 2 lemons juice of
- 1 lime juice of
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon wasabi or more if desired
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon togarachi seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
- 5 sheets crispy nori snacks broken up
Instructions
- Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook until just about al dente, or a little further. Remove the pasta from the water using a metal strainer with a handle or spider scoop and add it to a large bowl.
- Add in the mayo, chili crisp, soy sauce, sesame oil, and olive oil. Toss to combine and set aside in the fridge until cooled.
- Meanwhile, add the shrimp to the same boiling water. Cook about 3-5 minutes until opaque. While they cook, prepare an ice bath. Transfer the shrimp to the ice bath to stop cooking. If desired, cut the shrimp in half to create more manageable bites. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- Once the pasta is fully cooled, add the shrimp, and all the remaining ingredients. Toss to combine. Serve!