Curried Pumpkin Goat Cheese Peanut Shrimp Noodles

Pap Steve’s Curried Pumpkin Goat Cheese Peanut Shrimp Noodles

(The “I only had a little soup left but still fed the whole crew” version)
PapSteveReviews.com – December 2025

Sometimes the fridge gives you three pounds of soup, sometimes it gives you a sad little 1½ cups. Doesn’t matter — this scaled-down leftover hack stretches that last bit of curried pumpkin–goat cheese soup into a killer noodle dinner that still disappears in ten minutes flat.

Serves: 4–5 regular humans (or 3 if your teenagers are home)
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Ridiculously easy

Ingredients

• 10 oz wide rice noodles (pad Thai style)
• 1 to 1¼ lbs large shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1 Tbsp oil or butter
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas (straight from the freezer — no thawing)

The “Tiny Amount of Soup” Sauce

• 1½ to 2 cups leftover curried pumpkin–goat cheese soup (whatever you’ve got)
• ½ cup natural peanut butter (the drippy kind)
• 3–4 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
• 1–2 Tbsp brown sugar (taste first — your soup might already be sweet)
• 1 heaping tsp grated fresh ginger (or ½ tsp ground)
• 1–2 tsp sriracha or chili-garlic sauce
• Juice of 1 whole lime (don’t skip — it wakes everything up)
• ¼–½ cup hot pasta water, coconut milk, or regular milk to loosen the sauce

Garnish (make it rain)

• Crushed roasted peanuts
• Sliced green onions
• Lots of fresh cilantro or basil
• Extra lime wedges
• More sriracha for the table

Pap Steve’s Instructions

1. Get the rice noodles cooking 1 minute less than package directions. Drain, quick cold rinse, drizzle with a tiny bit of oil. Set aside.
2. While the water boils, heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high. Add oil/butter, season shrimp lightly, and sauté 1–2 minutes per side until just pink. Scoop them out.
3. Same pan — no need to clean — dump in your 1½–2 cups of leftover soup, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and sriracha. Whisk until the peanut butter melts and everything looks smooth (3–4 minutes).
4. Taste it!
   Too thick? Start adding hot pasta water or milk a splash at a time.
   Need salt? More soy.
   Need heat? More sriracha.
   Need life? Big squeeze of lime.
5. Toss in the frozen peas — they’ll thaw instantly. Add the noodles and shrimp back in. Gently toss until every noodle is coated and everything is hot. If it tightens up, keep adding liquid until it’s saucy but not soupy.
6. Off the heat, throw in a big handful of torn herbs. Serve in deep bowls piled high with peanuts, green onions, more herbs, and lime wedges.

Pap Steve’s Truth Bombs

• That little bit of leftover soup stretches like crazy once you add peanut butter and pasta water.
• Still tastes rich and creamy because of the goat cheese already in the soup.
• Don’t like goat cheese? Substitute coconut milk or heavy cream in the original soup recipe.
• Kids fight over the sweet peas, adults fight over the tangy-spicy sauce. Everybody wins.

Proof you don’t need a gallon of soup to make a killer dinner. Raid the fridge, make it happen.

– Pap Steve
PapSteveReviews.com