Meow Recipes

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing

Hello! This is a happy little green salad loaded with tender juicy shrimp, buttery avocado, crisp cucumber bites, peanuts, cilantro, limes, homemade wonton strips if you are gonna go all out, and a heavy-handed pour of light, creamy, and perfectly sweet miso dressing. And it wants to be friends with you.

This salad reminds me of one of my most locked-in-pre-orders of all time from California Pizza Kitchen. That’s right, I just brought CPK back into your life. The locations near us have since closed (honestly, why? RIP) but I vow to never forget my favorite order of all time: their miso shrimp and crab salad. Oh my good greens. It was piled high with crab and shrimp, and avocado, and crispy wontons, and miso dressing. It was deliciously fresh, crispy, and wonderful. Or is it still? Are CPKs open somewhere near you? Please go order this salad if you are so lucky.

What’s In This Delicious Shrimp Salad?

This is a completely simplified version, because maybe I didn’t happen to remember to look for a daikon radish at the grocery store this weekend, and maybe I don’t keep crab stocked in my fridge, and maybe my thumb was too tired from phone usage to shred carrots. AND MAYBE I LIKE SIMPLE.

So for all the above reasons, I just kept this shrimp and avocado salad pretty straightforward.

Shrimp (a teeny bit spicy, because duh)
Avocado
Spinach or Baby Kale
Cucumber
Some Lil’ Fried Wonton Strips (if time and energy allow)
and Creamy, Sweet, Fabulous Miso Dressing.

Close-up of Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing in a bowl.

Let’s Discuss Homemade Wonton Strips

A word about those homemade wonton strips: just cut wonton wrappers into strips and fry them in a little bit of oil over low heat; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

You will most likely find yourself in the same predicament that we did, which was sitting down to a big bowl of shrimp and avocado salad only to find that WOOPS we ate all the wonton strips already. Very addicting.

The Miso Dressing Is a Must

And now for one final note about the dressing: it’s a MISO DRESSING. It’s not too hard to find miso paste if you ask (I shop at very mainstream grocery stores and can usually find it tucked away in the refrigerated food section) but it’s worth noting that miso does have a really unique taste.

BA says that miso is “a fermented paste that’s made by inoculating a mixture of soybeans with a mold called koji (for you science folks, that’s the common name for Aspergillus oryzae) that’s been cultivated from rice, barley, or soybeans.” Being NOT one of the food science folks, all I know is that the lighter varieties of miso are sweet-ish and add a really yummy depth to sauces and soups and roasted veggies and the like.

Don’t let that description scare you. This dressing is SO good! But if you’re not sure, or if you just can’t find it, use this more basic creamy-sweet sesame dressing. Or this peanut-soy creamy dressing. You have options for deliciousness, is what I’m saying.

Watch How To Make This Recipe

Common Questions About This Shrimp and Avocado Salad

How do I make the homemade wonton strips?

Just cut fresh wonton wrappers into lil’ strips and fry them in a little bit of oil over low heat; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Can I use a different variety of miso paste here?

Yellow or red miso would each lend a bit of a different flavor compared to white miso and we’d really recommend white miso here.

I can’t find white miso. Any dressing substitutes?

Sure! Our peanut-soy dressing or our creamy-sweet-sesame dressing would be good subs here.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing

4.9 from 47 reviews

Author: Pinch of Yum
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4

Print Recipe

Description

This Shrimp and Avocado Salad is topped with spicy shrimp, crisp cucumbers, spinach, creamy avocado, and a generous drizzle of miso dressing. The happiest green salad ever!

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 pound raw shrimp, tails removed
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 cups sliced avocados (2 small)
1 cucumber, diced
4 cups spinach or baby kale, chopped
fresh chopped cilantro for topping
peanuts for topping
optional: fried wonton strips (see FAQs)

For the dressing:

one 1-inch piece of fresh peeled ginger
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons lime juice (more to taste)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 1/2 tablespoons white miso (it’s a paste – you can buy it at many grocery stores these days)
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Video

Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and shrimp; sprinkle with the chili powder and cayenne directly in the pan. Sauté for a few minutes on each side until the shrimp are no longer clear and have a nice golden color on the outside.
Arrange all the salad veg in a bowl with the shrimp.
Puree all the dressing ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust to your preferences. Pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately (or store the individual parts separately in the refrigerator until ready to serve). Top with fresh cilantro and peanuts for crunch.

Equipment

The equipment section may contain affiliate links to products we know and love.

Notes

Use more shrimp to make it, well, more shrimpy! Also – if you have fresh crab, heap that on there too!

Category: Lunch
Method: Sauté
Cuisine: American

Keywords: shrimp and avocado salad, miso dressing, shrimp salad

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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Hello there, end-of-winter lover!

I’m super glad to see you, sitting there in my crockpot, all creamy and delicious.

I will now put on my best sweatpants, my thickest socks, and get out my deepest bowl so I can experience the best of the end of this cozy season with you right here on my couch. Let’s do this.

Why This Gnocchi Soup Is So Good

This is a re-make of an old recipe that was inspired by a friend and what I love about this soup is, well, there are several things.

It reminds me a little bit of the chicken wild rice soup in that we just start pretty basic with carrots, celery, onions, chicken, spices, and broth in a crockpot. And you know how I love me some chicken wild rice soup slash any soup in a crockpot. Minnesota represent!
Unlike the wild rice soup, this chicken gnocchi soup is made thick by evaporated milk and a quick cornstarch slurry. So if you’re looking for thick and creamy soup while avoiding the butter/flour/cream route of a roux base, this is your magic. ✨
GNOCCHI. Those tiny dumplings of happy feelings that are mixed in throughout the chicken gnocchi soup make the whole thing come together. Every time I make this soup, Bjork a) raves, and b) talks for at least 5 minutes about how much he loves “the dumplings.” I could almost actually call this Chicken and Dumpling soup except the Chicken and Dumpling soup of my youth (a Herman’s bakery special in Cambridge, MN) had approximately zero vegetables and was practically untouchable in its level of homey perfection, so I will not go there. Let’s just give ourselves a pat on the back for the carrots, celery, and sautéed garlic spinach that are present at this soup party. And the bacon. I always invite the bacon.

About The Gnocchi

To me, crockpot chicken gnocchi soup means something that can be quickly and easily tossed together and tastes best when using good, quality ingredients.

If I don’t just *happen* to have some fresh homemade gnocchi laying around (which hello, like, NEVER HAPPENS, because homemade gnocchi disappears in five seconds flat around here), then store-bought gnocchi it is. Those savory fluffy little bites of airy perfection cook up just right when stirred in at the end of cook time for this soup.

Please Bring This To All Your Friends

I could totally see this chicken gnocchi soup being a great bring-to-a-new-mom-or-sick-friend type of meal. It’s easy to throw together, it’s got that basic-yummy flavor that families love, there’s some redeeming vegetables in with all that creamy awesomeness, it saves well in the fridge or freezer… win, win, win, all around.

I have brought it to a few friends with a loaf of the Miracle No-Knead Bread and the bread + the chicken gnocchi soup combo get rave reviews every time.

Match made in heaven, I’d say.

This recipe was adapted from Jessica’s version – she introduced me to the genius of using evaporated milk!

Watch How To Make This Recipe

Common Questions About Our Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Do I have to use evaporated milk?

You can use something other than evaporated milk, but I found that evaporated milk has the creaminess of half and half or heavy whipping cream without actually needing to use up a bunch of half and half in the soup.

My soup leftovers seem less soupy and more thick. What should I do?

The leftovers soak up a lot of the moisture, so you might need to add more evaporated milk depending on how soupy you want it and/or how long you’ll be keeping it around.

Can I make this with dairy-free milk?

It won’t be as creamy with a dairy-free milk, but it should still work. We’d recommend unsweetened almond milk or canned coconut milk and adding an additional tablespoon of cornstarch to the soup.